How many times have you gone to your college dining hall and made a conscious effort to pick your food? Although many of you do actively avoid the dessert bar or sodas, are you careful about having a balanced meal? If you do give conscious effort, surprisingly enough, you are one of few.

In a study of female freshmen, researchers surveyed various subjects in a variety of areas using careful sampling techniques in order to determine the eating habits of these freshmen. For these subjects, researchers focused on responses when they asked their subjects about their daily intake of fruits and vegetables. As the responses grew more and more nuanced and technical do to the unwillingness of a few subjects, the answer became very clear. The subjects admitted to consuming a larger proportion of carbohydrates, sweets, and protein than recommended while consuming fewer vegetables and fruit. However, these results were found to be indicative of the entire population of college freshmen—a group apparently struggling with their increase in autonomy regarding food. Due to hunger, temptation, boredom, or stress, young adults were more likely to eat unhealthy food than many other populations researchers have studied.

Of the people surveyed who ate healthy diets, they did so to uphold their body image and social norms. Also, if healthy foods were easier to access than unhealthy (which is usually not the case), these students were more likely to eat a balanced diet consistently.

So what do you do?

Focus on what you put on your plate. How many natural colors can you get?

Keep a positive self-perception. You are what you eat!

Try to make at least half your plate made of fruits and vegetables.

These are basic steps to get you started on the path to eating healthy, and consequently, preserving physical health.

Information from:

Kedem, LE.Evans, EM. Chapman-Novakofski, K. 2014. "Psychometric Evaluation of Dietary Self-Efficacy and Outcome Expectation Scales in Female College Freshmen." Behavior Modification (2014). PubMed. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.