Students should focus on controlling diets
Moving from the West Coast to the South has opened my eyes to different eating habits and food options. I have seen the amount of fast food that students eat daily and the lack of knowledge many have when it comes to healthier options. The fast food on campus, and around Columbia, allows for easy, quick eating — a situation that often creates disgusting habits. Though not all of our options are necessarily bad, we still need to learn how to choose healthier options and take small steps toward leading healthier lives.
Last week, I saw several efforts from Campus Wellness aimed at educating students on managing their diets. During a three-week period, the program conducted a series on intuitive eating and weight management, as well as the psychology behind eating, to help students make healthier choices in their lives.
Making healthier choices when eating is the most important aspect a person can change in improving quality of life or losing weight. To decrease the amount of obesity not only in South Carolina, but across the United States, people need to be educated and understand the implications of what they put in their mouths. South Carolina is one of 12 states whose obesity level is greater than or equal to 30 percent . Programs like those held by Campus Wellness these past few weeks are the perfect tools for raising students’ awareness of healthy eating — an awareness that they will share with those around them, hopefully resulting in a campus better informed about the impact a healthy lifestyle can have.