CHAPTER 19 BRING IT HOME

1. What was the average time you spent eating? Do you feel you eat too quickly? If so, do you think slowing down and paying attention to the taste and texture of food consumed would add to enjoyment and meal satisfaction? Explain.

2. Where and with whom were most of your meals or snacks consumed? Comment on how you think location and who you were with effects food choice, quantity consumed, and enjoyment/meal satisfaction.

3. How did the level of hunger influence food choice and quantity consumed? Do you feel hunger is a primary determinant of when you eat? Or do other factors, like habit or schedule, determine meal or snack timing?

4. What was the primary reason(s) for your food choices? How do you think these reasons affect the healthfulness and nutritional quality of your overall diet?

5. How do you feel emotions affect your overall intake and food choice?

6. Comment on the level of fullness following your meals or snacks. Did you note any patterns related to time you spent eating, beginning level of hunger, or other factors?

7. Look back over your chart and your answers to these questions. Discuss how environmental, physical (hunger), social, and psychological variables guide your food choices and eating patterns.

8. After exploring the factors and situations that influence your food or beverage choices and eating patterns, are there any modifications in timing, location, or environment that you feel would positively influence your overall diet and health?

1. Look back at the chart you created and think about the many variables that influence when, where, why, and what we eat. Discuss how these factors may influence a young adult moving from a home environment to a college campus.

2. What five suggestions would you give a new college students to help them avoid weight gain and to choose a balanced, nutrient-dense diet on campus? You can find some ideas by visiting: Eight Ways to Beat the Freshman 15 at http://www.eatright.org/Public/content.aspx?id=6442471553

KEY IDEAS

• The college years are a time of food-related transitions that may present challenges in maintaining a healthy diet and a healthy body weight.

• Nutrition studies show that many older teens and young adults consume diets that are energy-dense and nutrient-poor, which may result in inadequate intake of important nutrients such as calcium, iron, and fiber.

• College women are at particular risk of iron-deficiency anemia because of suboptimal intake and higher needs than men and younger women.

• The Freshman 15 is a term inappropriately used to describe the pattern of weight gain during the first year of college as students adapt to campus life. Studies demonstrate that although weight gain may occur for many students, it averages three to four pounds.

• Hunger is a key determinant for eating, but food choice is influenced by many factors including personal preferences, nutrition knowledge, food environment and cost, and social and cultural influences.

• Eating disorders are considered mental illnesses characterized by an unhealthy and abnormal relationship with food and body weight that threaten health and interfere with many areas of a person’s life.

• Anorexia nervosa, which primarily affects adolescent girls and young women, is characterized by distorted body image and excessive dieting that leads to severe weight loss with a pathological fear of becoming fat.

• Bulimia nervosa is characterized by frequent episodes of binge eating followed by purging behaviors, such as self-induced vomiting or excessive exercise, to avoid weight gain.

• Binge eating disorder is characterized by recurring episodes of eating significantly more food in a short period than most people would eat under similar circumstances, accompanied by feelings of lack of control.

• Alcohol is a potentially intoxicating ingredient found in beer, wine, and liquor that is not a nutrient, but provides energy (seven calories per gram) and has druglike effects via the central nervous system.

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• Alcohol use and abuse in college-aged students is a major public health problem that can result in numerous adverse effects and consequences.

• Moderate alcohol consumption in adults (two drinks per day for men and one for women) may have potential health benefits. A “drink” generally equates to the amount of alcohol found in 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled liquor.

• The liver can only metabolize about one ounce of alcohol an hour, regardless of the amount consumed. Excess intake results in a rise in blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and levels of intoxication.

• With similar alcohol intake, BACs rise more quickly in women than men of the same size because women have less total body water content.

• The metabolism of ethanol produces acetaldehyde and other highly reactive chemical compounds that can cause tissue damage and impair health.

NEED TO KNOW