Abby Grossmeyer

ENGL 111
Dr. Kim Lacey
12 December 2019
Promoting Health for Better Academics
Introduction
Health in the United States has not been a major focus in our nation in recent years. With
fast food chains expanding their businesses and offering affordable meals, the temptation to eat
the unhealthy food from these convenient places is getting to be too much to handle for the
adolescent children in our nation. Specifically, college students are struggling with finding food
to eat that gives them both the variety they want and the nutrition they need. A study done by
Lizzy Pope, PhD, RD, shows that twenty three percent of students enter college overweight or
obese (“College”, 2016). By the end of college, Dr. Pope states that forty-one percent of these
students were categorized as overweight or obese, a seventy-eight percent increase (“College”,
2016, para. 5). It is evident through this study that bad eating habits are being developed by
students over the course of their college experience. The issue that causes the widespread
unhealthy choices amongst college students is that there are limited meal options on campus that
are as healthy as they are enticing. The marketplace at Doan at Saginaw Valley State University
(SVSU) has some healthy options, but there is very little variety from day to day. This is the
intended main source of food for all students on campus. However, because of this lack of
variety, students would rather go elsewhere, such as the Cardinal Café or even off-campus fast
food restaurants. Common places on and off campus for students to eat to avoid the Marketplace
are Panda Express, Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Subway, and Chipotle. At a time when most students
are beginning to make decisions for the first time in their lives, they are left with unhealthy
options because they value variety over health. The solution to this health issue is to provide
more nutritious options on SVSU’s campus with more variety of these foods through adding new
dishes in the Marketplace and altering the options at the Cardinal Café.

Problem Analysis
Time and time again, college students will be out on weekends running errands or
catching up with friends, and they will grab a “quick bite to eat” at a Taco Bell or a McDonald’s
because it’s convenient and appealing to them. Even though it is known that the foods these
chain restaurants provide have little to no sustenance and are not meant to be a daily meal,
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college students find themselves eating at fast food restaurants frequently because they don’t
want to go back to their dorms to eat the same bland meal they’ve been eating for weeks. This
eating out on weekends turns into eating off-campus on weekdays and can even escalate to
students eating fast food every day. The problem with this habit is that an average meal at a fast
food restaurant is 800 calories, more than thirty percent of the suggested daily calorie intake for
young adults (Dingman et al., 2014, p. 562). Additionally, the meals that come from fast food
restaurants are not meant to provide the daily nutrients developing brains need. The above
average Calories in the meal can cause weight gain, lead to lowered mental health, and then
cause more stress-induced eating. This could be a whole cyclical conundrum that is avoidable.
There is a proven correlation between diet and academic achievement. According to the National
Institutes of Health, the nutrient rich foods, that are required for developing the brain and
keeping it going, also provide it with the energy to function properly (Burrows, Whatnall,
Patterson, & Hutchesson, 2017, para 4). Therefore, if students don’t regularly eat healthy foods
with proper nutrition, they will not function well in class due to their deficiency in energy. Lack
of options and little variety in food on SVSU’s campus lead to students seeking off-campus fast
food, leaving them to take time to travel out to a restaurant that will not give their bodies what
they need.

Detailed Plan of Action

The solution to this problem is not complicated, but it may take some time to put
everything in place. The first step toward getting healthier options and more variety at the SVSU
eateries is to set up an appointment to talk with the Dining Services Director, Matt Wilton, and
the Marketplace Director, Sieg Lindner. In this appointment, discussion of what the current
situation is and what I would like changed about it would take place. Essentially, I would talk to
Matt Wilton and Sieg Lindner about not presently having enough healthy options in the
Marketplace and the monotony of the menu form day to day. I would then share what kinds of
nutritious foods students would be happy eating for meals, such as fresh fruits, steamed
vegetables, high protein meats, yogurt, and granola. A yogurt parfait station with fresh fruits,
granola, and other healthy toppings would help students think positively about healthy food. The
funding for the yogurt bar and other new dishes would come from discontinuing a few other
dishes to substitute them for healthier ones, such as getting rid of the comfort food station to
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replace it with a lean meats station. Even making a change from breaded meat and fried meat to
oven-cooked meat. Over time, they can incorporate more variety and continue to learn different
moderations of the new healthy dishes. After this is all in motion, the Marketplace problem will
be solved. Even so, there will be some students who tire of the food there, so many will still
venture out.
The next step toward the solution is meeting with the Retail Director, Brooke Murray,
who is the contact for the Cardinal Café. In this meeting, we would discuss the restaurants
available at the Cardinal Café, mainly focusing on Panda Express. The other options in this café
are fairly healthy and also decently appealing to young adults, but the options aren’t as effective
as long as the Panda Express is still there tempting students to choose delicious over nutritious.
Removing this temptation and replacing it with a healthier option that is also enticing would
influence the on-campus food consumers to re-evaluate their dietary decisions. They may
consider a sandwich with leaner proteins or a smoothie midday to curb their hunger until
dinnertime. As a potential alternative to completely removing the on-campus Panda Express,
Brooke Murray and I would discuss eliminating the least healthy options from the menu there,
such as taking away the fried rice and lo mien sides to encourage the white rice and mixed
vegetables sides. When eating healthy is the main option, students will comply. Both discussions
with the various Directors dealing with supplying healthier food on our campus would work
toward bettering our campus.

Costs and Benefits

The change made in the Marketplace and in the Cardinal Café would encourage students
to lead a healthier life through a better-balanced diet. If more nutritious options are provided for
students, they are more likely to eat them. According to Mia Nacamulli in her video entitled,
“How the food you eat affects your brain”, unhealthy fats found in many fast foods, such as trans
and saturated fats, can weaken the brain (Nacamulli, 2016). These saturated and trans fats are
commonly found in breaded and baked goods. Nacamulli also stated that the proteins and amino
acids more commonly found in protein-rich meals directly affect people’s mood, sleep patterns,
and attentiveness (Nacamulli, 2016). Therefore, if students eat nutritious foods, they will have
more energy, be more willing to listen to the lectures they attend, and they will be able to sleep
more regularly. All of these will result in better scores on tests and in courses overall. If students
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have more energy, they will put in the time to do their assignments and be more likely do them
well. They are more likely to get up and go to early lectures, which students frequently skip.
Ultimately, food doesn’t just affect the student’s image and direct health, it affects their mental
health, motivation, and energy. Nacamulli states, “While the human brain only takes up about
two percent of our body weight, it uses up to twenty percent of our energy sources,” (Nacamulli,
2016). In order to function in classes, our bodies need nutrients. Providing students with more
than just Panda Express and comfort food within SVSU’s campus will allow them to better
function as learners. Although healthy food can be expensive, it is an investment for the future of
the Saginaw Valley State University.
Looking at all potential costs involved with this solution, money and availability are the
only risks. A commonly known obstacle to buying fresh produce is the expense that comes with
it. However, the Marketplace is funded by the students. This change is affordable because there
is a high number of SVSU students who buy a meal plan, so their cost wouldn’t increase a
significant amount. From removing other dishes and making the cost slightly higher for each
student, the Marketplace could become a place that students are excited to visit. Availability of
the Cardinal Café is also a risk for this solution, if Panda Express was removed and replaced by a
healthier alternative. Potentially, that part of the Cardinal Café would be closed for a few days to
switch the restaurant and find employees. This is why the Marketplace would first be solved,
then the Cardinal Café. This is a relatively small cost in the major goal of making SVSU a
healthier, higher achieving university. The advantages to these changes far outweigh the
potential costs when looking at the future of campus achievement at Saginaw Valley State
University.

Conclusion
The solution to inadequately healthy options and little variety in food on Saginaw Valley
State University’s campus is to provide more nutritious options for students, but what does this
look like for the future of SVSU? With healthier food provided on campus, students can spend
less time driving around Saginaw in heavy traffic in search of a meal that doesn’t satisfy their
body’s needs. Students will have more time to study, more motivation to succeed, and a better
attitude about school. As we have already proven this to be true with minor implementations of
healthy options on campus, we can even further the results we have seen. The sooner we take
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action, the bigger benefits this will result in. As generations coming in are expected to pursue a
higher education, the Universities they pay to attend should provide them the nutritious food they
need to succeed. When people become healthier in one aspect of their life, they will better other
parts of their life. Healthy living is contagious, and it all begins with one positive change.
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References
Burrows, T. L., Whatnall, M. C., Patterson, A. J., & Hutchesson, M. J. (2017, September 25).
Associations between Dietary Intake and Academic Achievement in College Students: A
Systematic Review. National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5746694/.
Dingman, D. A., Schulz, M. R., Wyrick, D. L., Bibeau, D. L., & Gupta, S. N. (2014). Factors
Related to the Number of Fast Food Meals Obtained by College Meal Plan
Students. Journal of American College Health, 62(8), 562–569. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=s3h&AN=99282995&site=eds-
live
Nacamulli, M. (2016, June). How the food you eat affects your brain [Video file]. Retrieved
from https://www.ted.com/talks/mia_nacamulli_how_the_food_you_eat_affects_your_
brain/up-next?language=en
What Else Comes with a College Degree? An Extra 10 Pounds, Says New Study. (2016,
November 12). The University of Vermont. Retrieved from https://www.uvm.edu/
uvmnews/news/what-else-comes-college-degree-extra-10-pounds-says-new-study.