The Not So Quick College Fix
The Not SO Quick College Fix
By Courtney Ceccarini
Q News
A carry-on suitcase sat at the edge of the bed with clothes neatly folded inside, ready to be zipped up and taken from North Carolina to Colorado. Spring Break is only hours away and not everything is quite set. She doesn't know what she will eat during the trip.
Helen de Weissenbruch, a junior at High Point University, came to campus as a freshman overwhelmed. Being from Belgium, coming to an American University was a culture shock.
"From the beginning I found myself comparing my body to other girls here," de Weissenbruch says, "so I started doing diets but none of them ever stuck."
Being on a diet while conquering college is a common challenge. De Weissenbruch is one out of six college students on a diet.
The Freshman 15 Curse
When entering a new environment it is common for individuals to turn to food. As a result, weight gain is most likely to happen. However, it is no where near the 15 pounds society has led us to believe.
The amplified phrase, 'The Freshman 15’, has been directed towards incoming college freshmen since the late 80s. 35 years later, it has become some students' biggest fear; pressuring them to turn to unhealthy dieting techniques to lose weight or keep weight off.
Weight gain is a healthy trend in young adults and nothing to be frightened by. Most college students don't realize this, and that can increase their risk of unhealthy dieting.
Nutritionist, Anna Hallock, at Vivid Life Nutrition, LLC in High Point says, "I work with a lot of clients with eating disorders. Many of them started with dieting that eventually led to developing disordered eating."
College students are under a lot of pressure. Between school work and meeting new people, incorporating a healthy life style is not always the first on a list of priorities.
The Freshman 15 has been the root of a lot of college students anxiety. This anxiety then has the potential to cause a real 15 pound weight gain.
"I first heard about the Freshman 15 from my friends," de Weissenbruch says, "they were talking about gaining weight and blamed it on that, so we all started dieting."
College campuses have incorporated programs to help with combating these issues. However, in most cases it is up to the student to connect with them.
More times than not, students find themselves looking for a fast solution like, fad dieting.
Fad Diets: Fix Now, Pay Later
With social media being a apart of 98% of college students daily routine, fad diets have grown to exponential heights on campuses.
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| Fad Diet Graphic by: Courtney Ceccarini |
The types of diets range from eating at certain times of the day, to only drinking liquids. This can become very unhealthy and lead to long lasting negative effects.
According to the Boston Medical Center, “of an estimated 45 million Americans who go on a diet annually, 50% use fad diets.”
Studies have revealed that fad diets do not give the results individuals were originally looking for and ultimately they are dissatisfied.
De Weissenbruch's roommate, Nicole Bates, has been a vegetarian for years. She started her journey in order to help the environment. Shortly after, she transitioned into full vegan. She cut out all meats and dairy.
As her time progressed with veganism and she learned more, Bates was unsatisfied with the effects the diet had on her and the extents she would go to be successful in it.
"The hold veganism had on me would shock most people," Bates says.
Society’s Effect
Scrolling through her social media feeds, de Weissenbruch often found herself comparing the way she looked to her peers on campus. The girls in her class have portrayed themselves online to have features that reach public beauty standards. It makes her feel as though she would never be able to meet the expectations in real life.
Social media has played a significant role in college student's self images.
Students on campus have taken advantage of the progresses editing applications are making. They will post images with filters and different photo manipulation effects; leaving the viewers feeling that they have to reach unachievable standards.
"Sometimes scrolling through Instagram makes me feel insecure," de Weissenbruch says, "The girls at High Point are literally Instagram models."
Students being on social media for extensive periods of time has put pressure on them. Trends on different platforms have the influence to change the way young people view their surroundings.
Content creators with large followings have an influence on young adults. Posts about losing weight and different techniques are inevitable to come across.
One of the most popular trends on YouTube and TikTok for fitness advocates are "What I Eat in a Day" videos. These types of videos often promote unhealthy behaviors and are an inaccurate representation of a true day to day routine.
Media that highlights changing a daily routine for appearances can cause college students to alter their lives in a way that do not effect them in a positive way.
According to a study conducted by the Florida House Experience and reported by Illinois State University, "80 to 90 percent of women and around 70 to 80 percent of men report unhappiness with their bodies, with cases heightened within the college demographic, and this increase in later years can be tied to media usage."
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