Eats | 4/7/08

Media Credit: Blake Savadow [Click to enlarge]

The percentage of Towson students who are overweight has increased since 2004 according to the results of the 2007 National College Health Assessment Survey.

In 2004, 22.1 percent of Towson students were overweight, which increased to 24.4 percent in 2007. The number of students who are of ideal weight on Towson's campus decreased by 6.7 percent since 2004, and the number of students classified as obese has remained about the same.

The increase in overweight students is in line with the study's national findings, which show increases in overweight students across campuses nationwide.

Jane Halpern, director of the Dowell Health Center, said several factors could play into the increase, particularly students' eating habits and lack of physical activity.

"I think a lot of people, especially college students, spend a lot of time on computers and their cell phones. I think you start to see this in kids before they get to college. They start to spend a lot of time sitting at the computer, in front of a TV screen unless they really have structured play activities and sports activities," she said. "Once you get to college, some of those sports activities might go away. People may not do the kind of sports they did in high school. They don't have physical education scheduled. Physical education is not even required here anymore."

Halpern said that once students reach college they are forced to schedule in their own physical activity.

"You've got to either get involved in a sport, a club sport, if you're not a varsity athlete, you've got to take classes like personal fitness," she said. "There are wonderful facilities here. It's not that they're not here, but if you don't make the time for that it may not help and you may get sort of sedentary while you're here."

Halpern also said she realizes that students are faced with making choices between healthier food, which tends to be more expensive, and food that is less healthy and cheaper.

"It is more expensive to eat healthy [on campus] and in general it's probably true in the commercial market too that you go there and healthier foods are more expensive," she said. "If you're really trying to scrimp and save it makes it more difficult. Is it impossible? No. But I think it has to be a priority for you. If you're faced with $2 or $3 on something versus $8 that may be a choice that you don't think you can make to take a more healthy route."

Continued...

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