Guide to healthy eating on campus

By Kevin Doby
Western Herald

Dining halls serve a variety of foods to help students meet dietary needs. Bethany Bohlen/Western Herald

Cafeteria food is something that almost any person living in the residence halls at Western Michigan University deals with on a daily basis.

Seeing as this is the main way for most freshmen and plenty of upperclassmen to get food, it is important that students are aware of the benefits and risks of residence hall food.

“My three keys for healthy eating on campus are: variety, moderation and balance,” said Gretchen Kauth, a registered dietitian who works at Sindecuse Health Center.

Kauth stressed that since this is a university, the people eating in the cafeterias are adults and what they eat is up to them.

“The most important thing, in my opinion, is setting good habits from the start,” said Judy Gipper, director of dining services at WMU and the only other registered dietitian employed at WMU.

“Don’t just graze around and grab everything; know what you are eating and make a choice.”

“Whole grains, lean meats, vegetables, obviously all of these are good, healthy options,” Kauth said.

“But I don’t want to come out and just say that french fries are bad and not to eat them. It’s [the students'] choice.”

However, just because it is up to the students to decide what, when and how much they eat, they are not without help from the university.

While there are no signs posted in the cafeterias with nutritional information about the food that is served, there is information available online.

Students can also do several things to make sure that they are eating healthfully.

Kauth suggests going to websites such as eatright.org, mayoclinic.com or americanheart.org for nutrition information.

Students can also call and set up an appointment with a dietitian at Sindecuse but they will have to pay for the appointment if it is not covered by their insurance.

WMU also provides numerous ways in the cafeterias themselves for students to eat healthfully.

Every cafeteria has a salad option. Also, with options such as the stir-fry station in Valley 1, individual cafeterias provide more healthful options with low-fat oils and vegetarian choices.

A new addition to the WMU dining choices is the newly remodeled Davis dining hall, which is now called Bistro 3.

The new cafeteria features a world flavors station and fresh creations station that Gipper said will bring more healthful choices with veggie burger and turkey burger options at the fresh creations and lighter, more international fare at the world creations.

However, Gipper stressed that while healthful eating is important, it is not the only key to a healthful lifestyle.

“Many students come here from situations where they participated in a high school sport and never had to choose what they actually ate for dinner,” Gipper said.

“However, once they get to college, students need to actively go out and participate in sports to get their regular activity and actually need to know what they are putting into their bodies.”

Gipper said students’ choices determine their health and mentioned that there is a positive aspect of WMU dining.

This year, WMU will hold a luncheon in the cafeterias featuring food bought from a local farmers market and will use a local farmer as one of their vendors for the first time.

Gipper said this comes from a new interest among students in where their food comes from.

“Ten years from now, if someone told me that we would be doing a farmers market luncheon, I would have laughed,” Gipper said.

“But now some students are definitely interested in where their food comes from.”

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Sep 5 2010. Filed under Breaking, Campus, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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