Jovanovic+Darija 

HIII GUYS!!!....My name is Darija and i am currently enrolled in the CCIT major, and i am hopin by next year to get into the DEM specialist. Come back for updates about myself and updates to my personal page.


 * I CANT WAIT TILL THIS SEMESTER IS OVER..WOOT WOOT!!!!!!****

Hey guys if you want to get more information about me you can e-mail me at darija_93@hotmail.com

Link to assignment #1: This is my assignment #1:

In the 21st century university and college students are driving themselves in a dangerous direction, by establishing unhealthy eating habits, which are leading to unhealthy lifestyles. It all begins with young children in elementary school where they form bad eating habits. Today parents pack their children’s lunch and include a small lunch snack. Parents who don not make their children lunch, give them money instead. "In a typical high school with more than 1,000 students, the cafeteria would sell only three to five pieces of fruit in total per day" (Winson, 2008). This only shows the extent that society has driven young children to. Thirty five percent of the foods purchased by student, does not have a lot of nutritional value (Winson, 2008). In today’s society, children are constantly bombarded with advertisements which draw children "towards unhealthy foods" (Winson, 2008). Cafeterias struggle to provide too much healthy foods because there are places around the school where children are capable of purchasing junk food. Therefore for the cafeterias to make money, it is important for them to keep up with competition and provide the same junk foods they are capable of purchasing outside the school, in school (Winson, 2008). "Unless kids are properly educated, they're going to choose junk over healthy food at school and at home," (Why are schools selling junk food to kids, 2008). By children not being educated in their youth, it creates bad habits when they get to university, habits that may be sometimes difficult to overcome. This is only the beginning of what is expected to be an unhealthy lifestyle for the child, not just today but specifically in the future. "People who are overweight when they're younger have a greater likelihood of being overweight as adults" (Hirsch, 2007). Today students whose current residence is on campus find themselves in a situation full of freedom, laziness and unhealthy eating habits. As explained in the previous paragraph most "eating and physical activity habits are usually established early in life", but also the fact that students live away from their parents, has a huge influence on their food choices (Typical eating and physical activity habits of Uni. students, 2005). A study shows "female students who leave home to attend first-year university or college are significantly more likely to start binge eating than peers who stay home to attend school" (Binge-eating triples among university students away from home: study, 2007). This is due to the stress and the introduction to this new environment they have been brought to. This is expanded in this idea of "Freshman 15", which explains that students in their freshman year are likely to gain the infamous 15 pounds on average because of their bad eating habits -- ordering pizza, subs and Chinese food for dinner every night and snacking in between" (Yamada, 2003). This is an important idea because most students gain their weight in their freshman year (Hirsch, 2007). This happens because when students are given the freedom of living on their own for the first time; most are tempted, because they are free to eat whatever they wish, in any portion, and at any place or time (Hirsch, 2007). Most of the foods they choose to experience this newly found freedom is with junk foods like fries, burgers, ice-cream and snacks. Students may have the perception that they are eating healthy, by eliminating foods like red meats, but without the realization that they are compensating for that food with foods like cheese and baked goods which are as bad as the red meat (Hellmich, 2002). Today in Universities almost every student living on residence chooses to purchase a meal plan. The meal plans can range from $1000-2000 or even more. When I asked Kiran, a UTM student living on residence what the meal plan incorporated? She explained "the meal plans include most of the cafeteria and almost any coffee shop or food place on the University of Toronto Mississauga campus" (Kiran, 2009). After taking a look at the Cafeteria menu, which is mainly used by residence students, they had provided many possible healthy food items, but there was one noticeable issue. Most of the healthy food items provided on the menu tended to be more expensive, which in a sense is understandable, because more nutritional products are incorporated into the food, but do students pay attention to that? When I asked Pinaz, a UTM student what she prefers to eat, she replied with a food item filled with calories and unhealthy additives. "If I had a choice between a healthy green salad or a burger, I would choose the burger because I know it will keep me full for longer, after all with all the tuition we have to pay, we need to find some way to save money" (Pinaz, 2009). It is understandable that "most students are too busy to cook their own food and too busy to exercise" but these habits can be reversed by students exercising and watching what they eat (Yamada, 2003). There are many situations in today`s society happening which affect the eating habits of university students. Stress having the most effect, can lead to students over-eating, or not eating at all. Both situations leading to an unhealthy lifestyle (Stressed out? Junk food won't help, 1994). Students today may be stuck in their dorm room, under a huge weight of pressure mainly due to exams, or schoolwork. So in order to deal with the stress some eat high fat foods and gain weight, while others eat less, and avoid the proper proportion of protein and vitamin intake, both leading to potential health problems (Stressed out? Junk food won't help, 1994). University and college norms make stress inducing habits like lack of sleep and cramming as normal, without the realization that it does create bad health practices (Hudd, and Dumlao, 2000). Televisions are another factor that influences university students eating habits. "Television's role comes in the form of the 30-second ads for fast food restaurants, snack foods and other high-fat foods that may taste good, but leave a long-lasting, bad aftertaste" (Boodhan, 2009). So, if students were to spend any time in front of a television, how can they not be affected? Other things like alcohol and smoking can only further encourage bad health and eating habits. When coming to a university, students consume large amounts of alcohol including beer, without the realization of the number of calories they carry and the potential weight gain (Hirsch, 2007). On the other hand, cigarettes on the other hand make activities like running, exercising or even walking difficult and in some cases almost impossible. Despite many bad habits, there are students who come to college with a "healthy lifestyle", where they are active, and eat the right proportions of food each day, and try to keep up this healthy lifestyle (Hellmich, 2002). But at the same time "almost 70% of students get fewer than the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables each day" (Hirsch, 2007). This is a large portion of the student body. "Campus vending machines and cafeterias are filled with the foods that make students fat" but despite the awareness of this problem, schools cannot afford to only sell healthy foods (Why are schools selling junk food to kids, 2008). The problem is that most school cannot lose out on the potential profit, therefore they highly focus on junk foods (Why are schools selling junk food to kids, 2008). Now, it all depends on the individual, and the decisions each university student makes. Students who are eating large portions, or not paying attention to what they eat, can gain a few pounds which soon will lead to "obesity, diabetes and other health problems" (Binge-eating triples among university students away from home: study, 2007). As a society we are aware that these health problems can be avoided only if students were to start eating right, but the issue is too many students are ignoring "traditional balanced meals for fast food on-the-go" (Human Nutrition). College and university students need to understand the right way to balance schoolwork, their social life and mainly the needs of their bodies, in order to create a healthier current and future lifestyle (Hudd, and Dumlao, 2000). Bad habits are not only ruining a person’s body, but they are also affecting how student’s focus. Their school work, their intelligence level and even a student’s memory could be affected by their intake of fries, burgers, pizza and any other kind of junk food available (Yamada, 2003). Just by eating more fruits and vegetables, lower cholesterol, and even increasing iron levels can both help improve students study habits (Yamada, 2003). Today there are many workshops and programs, which aim to create a healthier society. These are not only created for the purpose of solving an issue but more, for the purpose of making students aware of the issue. An example of this is Guelph University who decide to develop a new degree which focuses on teaching individual students about "becoming personal fitness and nutrition instructors how to prescribe exercise and diet to an unhealthy population" (Graham, and Popp, 2008). But these programs cannot help the individual. Individual students need to want to and be motivated to make that change (Clarke, 2008). "Smart eating is what makes you smart in the long run and keeps you healthy at the same time" (Yamada, 2003). So, for our future it is important to eat healthy, think healthy and stay healthy for a long and healthy life.

Bibliography __** "Binge-eating triples among university students away from home: study." CBC news. 5 Oct. 2007. The Canadian Press. 05 Feb. 2009 . Boodhan, Veronica. "Poor eating habits linked to childhood TV exposure." National Post. 3 Feb. 2009. The National Post Company. 05 Feb. 2009 . Clarke, Patrick. "University of Toronto Scarborough." Information & Instructional Technology Services. 23 Jan. 2008. 05 Feb. 2009 . Graham, Terry, and Elaine Popp. "Rising Obesity Rates Prompts New Fitness Degree." University of Guelph. 18 Mar. 2008. 05 Feb. 2009 . Hellmich, Nanci. "College eating habits are clogged with fat." USA TODAY. 10 Jan. 2002. Gannett Co. Inc. 06 Feb. 2009 . Hirsch, Larissa. "Beating the Freshman 15." TeensHealth. Jan. 2007. 03 Feb. 2009 . Hudd, S S, Dumlao, J., Erdmann-Sager, D., Murray, D., Phan, E., Soukas, N., & Yokozuka, N. (June 2000). Stress at college: effects on health habits, health status and self-esteem. College Student Journal, 34, 2. p.217(11). Retrieved February 04, 2009, from General OneFile via Gale: http://find.galegroup.com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/itx/start.do?prodId=ITOF "Human Nutrition." St. Francis Xavier University. 04 Feb. 2009 . "Stressed out? Junk food won't help." Bnet, The go-to Place for Management. Aug. 1994. Society for the Advancement of Education. 04 Feb. 2009 . "Typical eating and physical activity habits of University students." Bnet, The go-to Place for Management. June 2005. 04 Feb. 2009 . "Why are schools selling junk food to kids?." Nov 2008 v23 i9 p158Men's Health, 23, 9. p.158. Retrieved February 04, 2009, from CPI.Q (Canadian Periodicals) via Gale: http://find.galegroup.com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/itx/start.do?prodId=CPI Winson, Tony. "Prof Learns Why Students Choose Junk Food." University of Guelph. 14 May 2008. 06 Feb. 2009 . Yamada, Miwa. "Eating habits are weighty issues." The Journal. 19 Mar. 2003. 05 Feb. 2009 .
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