Rushing and reaching will lead to an early demise
Campus offers little in the way of healthy eating
Linda West
It’s now an item for the evening news. It’s become an article for the daily papers. It’s a topic for radio talk shows. Canadians, including the young, will likely die earlier than they should, because they are consistently eating the wrong foods. We are becoming victims of obesity and all its attending ills. It’s time we paid attention to the facts in front of us.
We have access to nutritional facts. We know the dangers of trans fats, salt and sugar. We know the benefits of fibre and fruit. But we are always in a hurry. We have things on our minds. We rush and we reach; and when we reach, we reach for the nearest and most convenient foods available. We turn to vending machines and cafeterias. We eat Big Macs and candy bars. We drink Coca Cola and milkshakes sweetened with syrup.
“The only way to ensure that I can have healthy food when I come to the University of Manitoba is to bring it from home,” concluded one student. If every student did that, if they paused, planned and prepared to eat properly, then perhaps the cafeterias and the vending machines would start providing healthy food in order to stay in business.
As it is, both the vending machines and the cafeterias of two campuses received failing grades from last year’s fourth-year nursing students. Alarmed at the skyrocketing statistics for both obesity and diabetes among young adults, the nursing students made themselves and their fellow students the focus of their health promotion and prevention projects. What they found alarmed them even more.
One somewhat unscientific survey of 53 students found that all of these students use vending machines at least once per week, with some students using them as often as eight times per week.
The nursing students then assessed two typical vending machines by counting the number of slots per machine for each snack category, and totalling the number of slots in all machines studied. Only two of 62 slots dispensed “healthy” contents: granola and cereal bars. The remaining 60 of the 62 slots contained chips (32 slots), candy (21 slots) and cookies or pastries (4 slots).
Those same machines could promote healthier, lower fat/calorie choices by offering items such as nuts, dried fruit, trail mixes, nutrition bars, yogurt bars, meal replacement bars, pretzels, veggie crisps and bagel chips. It would be even better if the vendors used refrigerated machines so that salads, fruit, yogurt and cheese could be included for the consumer’s choice.
The students focused the next stage of their study on campus cafeterias, and found that 80 per cent of U of M students purchase food at one of the cafeterias. To their dismay, the students could not find one outlet that posted nutritional information for the foods that they were providing. Various food outlets were asked if they had nutritional information that could be made available to the public. The answer to each request was “no.”
Having failed to obtain nutritional information at the point of purchase, the nursing students moved on to approach the company that supplies University Centre with food. Mike Caron, supervisor for the Aramark Food Services, stated that Aramark does not currently publicly display any nutritional information on their products, and pointed out that they are attempting to get to the point where they would be able to provide that information within the year.
The students did find that they had somewhat better luck with the franchises. While they did not have nutritional information available at the point of purchase, Tim Horton’s and Pita Pit did have it on their websites.
There is a silver lining to this story. Eighty-seven per cent of those interviewed said that they would use nutritional information if it was made available. Seventy-five per cent said that trans fats would or should be removed. Finally, a whopping 94 per cent said they would like to see healthier products being sold.
The nursing students expressed frustration at the quality of food being sold at the university, and they are considering follow-up action such as passing the information found in their surveys back to Aramark and the students’ union. They are also recommending that some form of education on nutritional needs be directed at first year students.
Students lead busy lives. They rush and they reach. Those students who take the time to ensure that they are eating in a healthy way will have a long and healthy life, rather than a short and sickly one.
Linda West is an instructor in the faculty of nursing.
