The Role of Colleges in Student Health
Last fall, Lincoln University made headlines when its administrators instituted a class called “Fitness for Life,”which covered everything from nutrition and exercise to sleep and stress management. The course was to provide basic health education and equip Lincoln’s students with the tools they needed to implement a healthy lifestyle in college and beyond. Making such a class available is certainly commendable. Making such a class mandatory for students with a body mass index over 30 raised questions and a few eyebrows.
The fact that such a story made national headlines is a good sign because it shows that the question of how to deal with our growing obesity epidemic and generally deteriorating health features prominently in the consciousness of many Americans. But what role, if any, should colleges play in educating students about health and longevity?
Last year, colleges and universities spent some $4 billion providing food to students. Imagine what that kind of purchasing power could be used for if colleges began to see their duty to educate students as extending past textbooks and classrooms and into basic skill sets, like how to eat and exercise for longevity. It’s no secret that optimal mental functioning is grounded in receiving all the essential nutrients, and adequate exercise is needed to ensure proper blood flow and muscle function. So why, then, have colleges not added nutrition and exercise classes to the core curriculum?
College students are uniquely suited to adapt and adopt new healthy lifestyle habits. They are open to both change and challenge as they adjust to life on campus. Moreover, their learning takes place both inside and outside the classroom, from teachers, fellow students, the Internet and personal experience. This is a prime environment in which to engage students to consider the habits they form today as investment in their future health. More importantly, if colleges and students begin to demand access to healthful foods by placing emphasis on quality and variety, rather than solely on quantity and convenience, they might be able to send a shockwave through our food system that would result in a much healthier balance for everyone.
If you are in college, or know someone who is, you can start by getting your college or university administration to spend their cafeteria money wisely. Combining purchasing power with their educational mission and community impact, campuses could serve as a hotbed of innovation and a leader in the move towards a healthier America. So many important social changes—women’s suffrage, civil rights, peace movements—were catalyzed by a few, passionate young people. If we use our voices correctly, we can help create a food supply of healthy, high-quality, nutrient-dense food that is affordable for everyone.
As proof that major food suppliers will respond to consumer demand, look to the cases of PepsiCo and Kraft Foods. Both companies announced they would be replacing high fructose corn syrup in their respective products of Gatorade and Wheat Thins with sugar. Though it costs more money to use sugar, the switch was made in response to consumer preference. And the removal of trans fats from many restaurant menus and processed food items was due solely to public outcry about the possible health hazards of this ingredient.
As a consumer group, our role must be to continue to show large-scale producers that investing in affordable, widely accessible health food options will be profitable. As we provide the demand, producers will follow through with a supply that meets our needs. Colleges, in particular, have an important role because they provide a succinct, focused support sector that can provide a model which the rest of our society can emulate.
Here are four ways every college and university could improve the experience, education, and health of its students:
Farm-to-School: College campuses should focus on seasonality, prioritizing those foods that can be sourced locally or from organic/fair-trade institutions. Limiting purchases of industrially produced and non-local food items decreases cost (because it cuts out shipping and preserving aids), decreases students’ exposure to harmful pesticides and fertilizers, and, especially in the case of locally-produced food, offers fresher, nutrient-dense options. An excellent way to cut costs and improve both student health and local economy is to implement Farm-to-School partnerships, where local producers provide produce and fresh goods, giving students a chance to eat a healthy variety of foods indigenous to their locale.
Sustainability: Part of creating a more healthful society entails making sure we are meeting our needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. Colleges should implement campus-wide recycling and composting systems to generate awareness of the waste created and to contribute as little as possible to the waste stream.
Academic Engagement: As they work to encourage students to prioritize healthy living, colleges must offer more academic opportunities for students to observe the relationship between food, health, environment and the global economy. Then students can come to understand intellectually the role they play in creating a sustainable society as conscious consumers and perhaps as the next generation of sustainable suppliers.
Physical Engagement: Crucial to the learning process is for students to feel a sense of ownership over the material and their health. The best way I know for this to take place is to make hands-on learning opportunities available to engage students in the growing process from seed to plate. This could include anything from creating on-campus gardens (such as the ambitious Cornell Sustainable Campus initiative) to work-study opportunities on local farms.
Ultimately, the hope is that students will graduate with a sense of stewardship over the land so that they continue to be conscious consumers after graduation. If colleges seize the ripe opportunity presented to them, they can have a significant impact not only in growing the ranks of a healthier generation, but also in selecting and grooming the leaders of tomorrow’s food marketplace.
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