Powerpoint discussing putting a plan in forward of eating healthy on college campuses

1. Eating Healthy on College
Campuses
A Call To Action

2. The Nature of
the Problem
College students are not eating healthy, with
many eating less than one serving of fruits or
vegetables per day
This problem stems not only from dining halls,
but from the lifestyle choices of the students as
well. It leads to a variety of health issues for
students.
Colleges can help students with this problem.
A variety of factors are affecting the food choices
that college students are making.
A Nutritional Deficiency

3. Assessment of
Dining Halls
One assessment of over
a dozen dining halls
concluded that “the full
campus dining
environment provides
limited support for healthy
eating and obesity
prevention.”

4. The “Freshman 15”
The “freshman 15” is an expression that refers to the amount of weight gained
during a student’s first year of college. Most of this weight gain is attributed to
unhealthy/unlimited food options and meal plans, less exercise, binge drinking,
and higher stress levels.
Many will even use this as an excuse as to why they’ve adopted an unhealthy
lifestyle. (i.e. “it’s normal, it’s college, everybody gains weight!”)

5. Dining Hall Issues
Often times, the only healthy option offered is a salad bar, with toppings and ingredients that remain
the same every day. This lack of variety can lead students to unhealthy options as a substitution.
The issue here is not always an absence of options, but the layout of dining halls, and the amount of
nutritional information and education offered to students
Another issue is that the unhealthy options are readily available, while many of the healthy options
have to be requested. You have to go and ask for the food to be cooked which takes time and is an
inconvenience for busy college students. Even when healthy food is offered, it is much harder to
access.

6. Student Choices
This issue is not the sole fault of dining halls;
students themselves are part of the problem as
well.
Even when healthy options are offered, there
are students who will always choose pizza,
hamburgers, or fried food.
Many students do not read labels or nutritional
information at all, due to a lack of interest or
because they don’t understand the full
consequences of consistently eating unhealthy
food with little to no nutritional value.

7. Why Does It Matter?
This issue is so important because it directly affects the health of students. A
lot of students do not even know the effects of eating unhealthily. Providing
students with access to healthy food, nutritional information, and the motivation
and resources to make good choices about their diet is just as vital to their
health as providing doctors and mental health services.
For this reason, we recommend making some simple changes that can
drastically improve healthy eating on campus.

8. A Call to Action
The majority of these solutions can be
implemented easily as a first step, because
they don’t require changing the food options
offered, and can be achieved by simply
rearranging certain aspects of dining halls.
These small changes would make a world of
difference to college students, by further
encouraging them to eat healthy and make
good choices in their diets.

9. Solutions
Changing Dining Halls
● Replace trays with smaller plates
● Replace dessert stands near entrances
and exits with healthier options
● Offer a wider variety of healthy options,
beyond salad bars
Educating Students
● Publicize the nutritional information of
every item offered in dining halls
● Offer information about the damage
caused by a consistently unhealthy diet