The results are in! The 2014 obesity rates for all 50 states were released Thursday by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and they are a little heavy (pun totally intended). Mississippi and West Virginia were tied for the most obese states in the country with a 35.1 percent obesity rate.
Forty-three states have obesity rates of at least 25 percent, and every state is above 20 percent, the report states. One-third of American adults are obese, and scariest of all, 1 in every 3 children in the United States is overweight or obese.
As alarming as these numbers are, it probably isn’t a surprise to too many people that America struggles with its weight. And while the government has taken steps to increase awareness and promote better health, the national waistline continues to expand. While a little extra weight isn’t necessarily a crisis, the extent to which Americans are tipping the scale could potentially sink the country.
The average U.S. citizen does his or her own grocery shopping, meal planning and decision-making as far as dietary choices go, but here at Boston University, students are somewhat reliant on the school to provide our dining options. Every freshman student at BU is required to live on campus and purchase a dining plan. Therefore, BU Dining Services have at some point, fed almost every student.
BU Dining Services operates all three campus-dining halls as well as all food services owned by BU. Their goals include providing “quality, variety, flexibility, convenience or pure deliciousness,” to all BU-located dining options, according to their website. Their website also heavily promotes the Sargent Choice Nutrition Center, which works in tandem with BU Dining Services to provide healthier meal options to students.
“The Sargent Choice program works with the chefs in BU Dining Services to provide meals that are delicious and satisfying, that sound and look appealing, while also meeting specific nutritional criteria,” said Sargent Choice Nutrition Center dietitian Rachel Reynolds. “Sargent Choice includes and highlights health promoting foods like whole grains, lean proteins, low fat dairy, heart healthy oils, fruits and vegetables.”
Whole grains and lean proteins sound like pretty good nutritional options, but those looking for them can’t always get what they want. Sargent Choice provides one pizza option, one soup option, two entrée options and recommended everyday items, such as granola and whole wheat bread at every meal. However, the meals they create aren’t always tasty, and sometimes, the cheeseburger looks a lot more palatable than the weird vegan broccoli lasagna roll.
It is true that Sargent Choice makes an admirable effort to provide healthy dining options, even if they aren’t exactly delicious, and they also provide complementary nutritional counseling, even if few take advantage of it. Still, there are some things about our campus that make weight maintenance somewhat difficult.
In addition to the soft-serve ice cream machines with convenient take-away cones, a veritable buffet of desserts is served at both lunch and dinner in BU dining halls, and no, there is no Sargent Choice option included. Ever look at the Late Night Café menu at the Warren Dining Hall? If you missed the regular dinner hours, you could find yourself facing a menu comprised of chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks and French fries. Campus vending machines are crammed with candy bars and chips, and the campus-partnered Domino’s Pizza is open until 3 a.m.
And what about exercise? Sure, the Fitness and Recreation Center, affectionately known as FitRec, is a state-of-the-art fitness facility accessible to all members of the BU community, but it is located at the far end of West Campus, quite a hike for those living in East Campus. Though you could make the argument that the walk there is additional exercise, it is understandably difficult for many East Campus residents to make their way there to get their daily exercise fix. Perhaps a smaller East Campus workout facility could provide a remedy to that struggle.
Despite campus dining complaints, BU is not an outlier in the national trend of less-than-perfect campus dining, and we are probably far better than many other schools. But if the United States is concerned about the obesity rates of future generations (like our generation), the health options of college campuses are worth taking seriously.
While BU should be held accountable for providing palatable healthy nutrition options, it isn’t their job to be the food police. We are adults, and it is up to us to choose the healthiest options for the moment. But a little extra encouragement – and education – from BU wouldn’t hurt.
