Amy Ketcham
English 138T
April 9, 2013
The women of Schreyer tackle world hunger, cancer, and society’s energy problems
But what about their nutrition?
Walking into the dining hall located by Honors housing, a student is confronted with
decisions. First and foremost, a student must decide between the places to eat and what type of
food they want to ingest. There are many options, including Chinese food options, Mexican food
options, a Panini grill, a fast-food grill, a pasta place, and the buffet. Many students have worries
about their health and their weight; often, these two aspects of their body correlate in the minds
of students. Low body weight automatically equals good health for a majority of my peers. These
thoughts, however, can be detrimental to health, especially when it leads students to making
careless nutritional decisions. As a Schreyer woman, I will initially comment on reasons for why
making these unhealthful decisions may be easier and more practical for many people, especially
for occupied Honors women. I will then discuss the health hindrances of eating poorly, and I will
end my comments with health benefits for eating well. For Schreyer women living on campus
the benefits of changing nutritional habits to be healthfully sound outweigh the ease and
practicality of eating badly. Ultimately, I argue that Schreyer women should begin to put effort
into thinking about their health without correlating it to their weight, while learning more about
healthful nutritional options, due to the multitude of mental and physical health benefits that
surround nutrition.
Obstacles to good nutrition
There are many barriers that students face when deciding what food to eat in their day.
Drawbacks to our dining options, such as availability and cost, plague the decisions of taxed
college students and prevent them from making better nutritional decisions. In our dining halls at
Penn State, for example, French fries cost 70 dining cents for an on-campus student. However, a
cup of fruit that is far from fresh is almost 1.50 dining dollars. The fruit is off to the side with the
drinks that students rarely buy. The French fries are warm and freshly cooked, sitting next to the
main food the dining hall offers. The students can satisfy their hunger with fatty, nutrient-lacking
French fries relatively quickly, but in order to go through the line at the buffet to obtain more
fruit and vegetable options, they must take an hour out of their time and wait in line, as well as
spend almost two dining dollars more for dinner. If these factors were able to be changed,
students might be more inclined to choose fruit over French fries. The price of fruit and French
fries cannot be changed without a large amount of effort and time, and students cannot take more
time to eat without their studies, homework, and extracurricular activities suffering. However,
these obstructions to better nutrition are something that delve deep into societal and cultural
problems, such as the huge obstacle of our economy.
Furthermore, there is no immediate negative consequence with a student eating French
fries, other than their fear of becoming an unattractive or overweight person. Our fear of
becoming an overweight or unattractive person is rooted in our minds as young women, which
may lead to dissatisfaction with our lives and our eating habits. Often women engage in
discussion that is saturated in comments about our looks, especially our body weight, and this
causes much focus to be put on how many calories are consumed, rather than the nutrients
needed. In a study done by Rachel H. Salk and Renee Elgeln-Maddox published by Psychology
of Women Quarterly, researchers found that over 93% of women in a college atmosphere engage
in “fat talk,”which is defined as women negatively commenting on their own weight and body
image to friends (“If You’re Fat Then I’m Humongous!”). The researchers found that this type of
talk, although common, was detrimental to body satisfaction and leads to an increase in thinideal internalization (Salk and Engeln-Maddox). In one of my own experiences, a friend of mine
commented that she had eaten pizza earlier in the day. Therefore, even though she was
apparently starving, she decided to refrain from nourishing her body with the needed nutrients in
order to keep her “calorie count” under the recommendation. We have all experienced some
form of this in one way or another - a usually common occurrence - but this action of wanting to
maintain a certain number of calories led my friend to spending her night hungry, dissatisfied,
preoccupied with her weight, and tired. I believe this is an indicator that we live in a society
where the focus on weight and body-image puts much pressure on women to agonize over food
decisions. However, instead of choosing healthful, nutrient-rich foods, we tend to binge on foods
that comfort us and then “cleanse” our bodies by refusing to eat anymore.
Reasons to change
More of the detrimental psychological aspects of restricting diets lead me to believe that
eating healthfully is much better for the mental well-being of a woman. For Schreyer women,
this could mean that the added feelings of insecurity in regards to food will become distracting
and detrimental to our schoolwork, if many of us continue to restrict our eating, instead of
nourishing it. In the British Journal of Psychology, Clare Warren and Peter J. Cooper studied the
psychological effects of a forced diet on healthy and non-depressed individuals, a study that has
been reproduced multiple times (“Psychological Effects of Dieting”). Their findings suggested
that dieting produced a significant increase in thoughts about food, strong urges to eat more
frequently, and most notably, were more likely to feel out of control about their eating (Warren
and Cooper). These types of feelings can be produced with even mild or short-term dieting
(Warren and Cooper). It would make sense, then, that women pressured by society to look
attractive and have an unrealistic weight will begin to feel these effects, particularly the out-ofcontrol emotion. As intelligent women who work hard every day to maintain their prestigious
spot in the Schreyer Honors College, we cannot afford to feel distressed by our eating habits.
Many times I hear my female peers exclaiming that they understand the consequences of
their nutritional decisions but simply believe that they will deal with the consequences later in
their lives. Often, I observe fellow students commenting, “I probably shouldn’t eat this, but…I
don’t care.” Thoughts such as these allow the perpetuation of nutritionally poor decisions,
especially if a woman is able to maintain her weight, but most times, weight is an unreliable
indicator of good health. Stephen Hennigar, Ph.D. candidate in nutritional sciences at Penn State
University, describes the issue with using weight as an indicator for good health, “We know that
being underweight is associated with increased health risks and that overweight or obese
individuals are at a higher risk for chronic diseases and have a shorter life expectancy. However,
we also know that weight alone does not capture the whole picture. A more comprehensive
assessment that includes indicators of diet and lifestyle and physical and biochemical analyses is
a more accurate indicator when assessing overall health,” (“Answer to Q’s”). However, as a
society with an obesity epidemic, we tend to believe in weight as an indication of health,
especially since obesity is a health problem that is diagnosed based on weight or body mass
index. The problem with this type of diagnosis is that body mass index does not take into account
the mass of muscle in a person’s body, a type of tissue that adds more weight but is an essential
factor in good health (“Body Mass Index: Considerations for Practitioners”). Furthermore, added
muscle weight is not the type of weight that causes the health problems that come from being
obese.
Another aspect of those types of apathetic statements that causes problems for the health
of women is how their health is something that can be dealt with farther on in their lives. The
way in which we treat our bodies now, nevertheless, is not only a major factor in our health later
in our lives but in the current moment. Young women especially think that in the current moment
they are resilient to poor nutritional decisions because for most of our lives we have been
children with excellent immune and metabolic systems, but now in college, we are grown
women who now have to treat their bodies in the way that is necessary for adult women with
slowed metabolism and immune systems. The immediate effects of eating nutritionally poor
foods include fatigue, lethargy, mood swings, and indigestion (“Effects of a Bad Diet”).
Additionally, prevention of minor illnesses, such as the common cold, flu, and headaches, is
increased with ingestion of more nutritionally sound foods.
Hennigar comments on the overall nutrition of young women, “Evidence suggests diets
of college-aged women are high in total and saturated fat and low in fruits, vegetables, fiber, and
dairy products. Therefore, few women meet recommendations for calcium, potassium, iron, and
folate,” (“Answer to Q’s”). As a nursing student, I am well versed in the reasons for these
required nutrients. Calcium is needed for bone strength and muscle use. Iron is needed for proper
oxygen transport throughout the body. Hennigar also described the effects of iron deficiency on
women, “There’s a great deal of research out there that shows that iron is essential for optimal
cognitive function. Sadly, most college age women are marginally [deficient] or deficient in
iron,” (“Answer to Q’s”). As Schreyer scholars, we need our cognitive function to be at
maximum efficiency most days because of our difficult classes. All of these concerns show that
nutrition has an immediate effect on our lives.
Additionally, overall health is important because of those “down-the-line” years. The cost
of healthcare may be on the rise, and a woman’s financial situation is never definite. Therefore,
all women should take better care of their nutrition not only for their health, but for their future.
Although financial circumstances, when it comes to healthcare, may change due to legislation in
the years to come, medical costs remain a large problem in the United States. According to a
Bloomberg Businessweek article by Catherine Arnst, 62% of all personal bankruptcies in 2007
were the direct result of medical problems (Arnst). Despite the legal issues occurring in our
political system because of this, detriments to personal finances such as these are sad,
unforeseeable, and common.
Additionally, the number one cause of death in the United States is due to heart disease
(“Leading Causes of Death”). Heart disease can be caused by genetic disorders, and more often,
a buildup of plaque (Mayo Clinic). This buildup of plaque blocks your nutrient-filled blood from
traveling to your energy- and nutrient-starved organs, possibly causing multiple organ failure. A
common cause of plaque buildup is high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes, all
conditions directly correlated to diet (Mayo Clinic). If the most common cause of death and the
most common cause of bankruptcy strike, then families are left financially and emotionally
devastated. As young women, we often think our lives are just beginning and we have years to
experience the best parts of life. If we are unable to have those experiences because of health
issues that could have been prevented, or even financial issues that could have been prevented,
all of our hard work here at Penn State will have been wasted.
Benefits of change
The list of nutrients our body needs is long - and perhaps they have odd,
unpronounceable names - but each of the nutrients helps for better overall health. As a nursing
major, I can attest to the importance of obtaining nutrients for overall health. Each of the
nutrients obtained is called a requirement because our body requires it in order to live a healthful
life. Hennigar expresses, “There is overwhelming evidence that the food choices we make can
lead to health benefits in the short and long term and can also contribute to chronic diseases over
time” (“Answers to Q’s”). Oftentimes, obtaining the recommended amount of a nutrient on a
daily basis is cited as a proponent for fighting off many various diseases. For example, women
who obtain their daily recommended iron intake feel less tired and are better able to fight off
disease. Osteoporosis, a disease that causes degeneration of bones, is a common affliction of
elderly women, but a study published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that
increased vitamin K intake throughout life may lead to a decrease in bone fractures in women
(Booth et al). Eating well, in combination with exercise, is a common recommendation for
women who feel uncomfortable with the way they look, and thoughts about weight can be less
prominent if a woman feels more comfortable in her own skin. The benefits of a healthful and
nutrient-dense diet are numerous and priceless.
Furthermore, changing your diet can be as simple and easy as visiting a website. The time
needed for education is much shorter than the time it takes, for example, for a coronary bypass.
Moreover, Penn State offers a variety of venues and options for students to educate themselves
on proper nutrition. Students have access to the Nutrition Clinic run by University Health
Services, and nutrition classes are an excellent way to gain an appreciation and knowledge of the
effects of food on our health. For students who do not have the time to visit the Nutrition Clinic
or take a nutrition class, the website ChooseMyPlate.gov provides a legitimate and credible
source of information for nutrition; it also provides advice for people who are on a tight budget.
Compared to the detriments of unhealthy eating, the effort and time spent changing to better
habits is invaluable.
Essentially, I want the women of Schreyer to believe they are powerful and strong-willed
enough to change their eating habits. The women of Schreyer have such passionate and caring
souls, and if all of the effort and dedication given to each of our passions, whether it be science
or liberal arts, is wasted by bad health, this will not only affect our lives, but the lives of
everyone we influence. However, a focus on weight and body-image may lead us to making poor
decisions in regards to our food. Changing our food habits can make us more effective and
innovative, doing what we do best: learning. Every woman in Schreyer is going to change the
world, whether it be one person, one country, one school, or one business at a time. Nonetheless,
we cannot accomplish our goals, if we are sitting in our dorms hungry and nutrient-deficient.
Works Cited
Arnst, Catherine. "Study Links Medical Costs and Personal Bankruptcy." Businessweek.com.
Bloomberg Businessweek, 4 June 2009. Web. 8 Apr. 2013.
"Body Mass Index: Considerations for Practitioners." CDC.gov. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2013.
Booth, Sarah L., Kerry E. Broe, David R. Gagnon, and Katherine L. Tucker. "Vitamin K Intake
and Bone Mineral Density in Women and Men." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
77.2 (2003): 512-16. Web. 1 Apr. 2013.
"Effects of a Bad Diet." Livestrong.com. Demand Media, 15 Mar. 2011. Web. 08 Apr. 2013.
Hennigar, Stephen R. "Answer to Q's." Message to the author. 4 Apr. 2013. E-mail.
"Leading Causes of Death." CDC.gov. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 11 Jan. 2013.
Web. 08 Apr. 2013.
Mayo Clinic. "Causes." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 29
June 2012. Web. 08 Apr. 2013.
Salk, Rachel H., and Renee Engeln-Maddox. "''If You're Fat, Then I'm Humongous!'' :
Frequency, Content, and Impact of Fat Talk Among College Women." Psychology of
Women Quarterly (2011): 18-28. SAGE Journals. Web. 1 Apr. 2013.
Warren, Clare, and Peter J. Cooper. "Psychological Effects of Dieting." British Journal of
Clinical Psychology 27.3 (2011): 269-70. Wiley Online Library. Web. 1 Apr. 2013.