Science&Health: Small, healthy choices make a huge difference

Robert Pigozzi, executive chef of UCLA Dining, said he has seen students piling their plates with fried eggs, hash browns, tatter tots, bacon, sausage, waffles and a soft drink.

And Elisa Terry, assistant director of fitness, instruction and training at the Wooden Center, said she gets frustrated when she sees how many students walk around campus wearing the wrong shoes.

These and other health and nutrition experts at UCLA said the consensus is clear: When it comes to diet and exercise, students are consistently making poor choices.

Terry said she believes students are not getting nearly enough exercise because they are not incorporating enough activity into their daily routine.

Even small choices, she said, such as walking to Westwood instead of driving, can have an effect

“You should be walking around more,” Terry said.

One of her personal pet peeves is seeing students walking around campus in sandals rather than good-quality tennis shoes.

“Flip-flops are unstable and you can’t possibly get the full benefit of walking if you aren’t wearing good shoes,” she said.

Part of the problem, she said, is that students are trying to cut corners when it comes to fitness, focusing on short-term goals and immediate results rather than making exercise part of a healthy lifestyle.

Taking on a new exercise regimen just to lose weight or look good might work in the short term, but focusing on appearance rather than health can work against motivation in the long run, Terry said.

“When you are focused on an end goal, you are missing everything involved. You are not engaged in the process,” she said.

But while fitness experts said frequent exercise is essential to a healthy lifestyle, nutritionists argue that maintaining a good diet is equally important.

Christian Roberts, a physiological sciences professor, said he believes students are not paying enough attention to what kinds of foods they are eating and are ignoring the importance of good nutrition.

He said he routinely sees students eating high-fat, high-sugar foods and believes part of the problem is that UCLA has few nutritious options for students to choose from.

But Pigozzi said he believes that problem lies not in the variety of options available, but students’ tendencies to seek out unhealthy foods, and added that he and other chefs at UCLA make an effort to provide nutritious fare.

“I saw someone with four donuts ““ that has to be your fat intake for an entire day,” he said

While the dining halls offer food rich in whole grains, as well as raw and steamed vegetables, soups and lean proteins daily, Pigozzi said students often request foods such as cheeseburgers and pizza.

But while many experts said college students lack healthy diet and exercise practices, Susan Quillan, chief of clinical services at the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center, said she believes UCLA students do have an understanding of what it means to be healthy.

While Quillan admits students can make unhealthy choices, she said, for the most part, short lapses in exercise and diet do not have long-term health impacts.

In fact, Quillan said she is far more concerned with students who under-eat and overexercise. Such students can often suffer from digestive, hormonal and heart conditions, as well as stress fractures and exercise-related injuries.

These students, as well as students who abuse drugs and alcohol, can often cause themselves serious damage in the short term, she said, whereas problems due to obesity and lack of exercise often do not manifest themselves until later in life.

Quillan said she believes many of the motivations for poor eating and exercise behavior are psychological.

“A lot of these health problems are invisible. Stress, depression, you can’t see that,” she said.

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