Holly Skinner

ENG 2001
Hypertext Essay Draft #1

Psychology and Eating Habits

Americans, as a whole, eat poorly. The statistics as of 2014 are overwhelmingmore
than seventy-five percent of Americans are obese or overweight. This can lead to a multitude of
health problems, including heart disease and diabetes. Bad eating habits can start as early as
childhood and adolescence and can have horrible long-term effects, such as those listed above.
Childhood obesity is more prevalent than ever, and early-onset type two diabetes is becoming
horrifyingly prevalent. So, the big question: why do we make these unhealthy choices? There is
not just one answerthings like the ever-growing portion sizes, the ingredients and preparation
of food, the high cost of healthy choices verses the low cost of unhealthy choices, and the lack of
education about proper eating habits all contribute to the decline in Americas health. Among the
college student population in particular, eating habits are varied, and many college students do
not eat well. But what about the psychology of making these unhealthy choices? A variety of
factors and implications, such as familial influence, societal acceptance of bad eating habits, and
stress, greatly contribute to the psychology of eating.
Having bad eating habits in college is, well, normal. It shouldnt be, but most college
students will not bat an eye if its eight p.m. and their friend tells them that he or she hasnt eaten
yet that day. Similarly, many females in particular will eat very little to nothing for meals. One of
my best friends would tell me regularly that she had a lunch akin to a handful of nuts and a few
grapes last semester. Other students exhibit the opposite tendencies, eating only junk food in
great quantities. There is speculation that a lot of these habits, especially eating very little, eating
at irregular hours, and eating large meals late at night is due to the busy schedules of a lot of

Holly Skinner
ENG 2001
Hypertext Essay Draft #1
college students. In particular, night eatingespecially large quantities of junk foodshas been
shown to be detrimental to the overall health of individuals and is prevalent among college
students.
College also presents a drastically new environment for students, especially freshmen.
Most students were used to the regulated and timed lunches at school as well as regular family
dinner and/or breakfast times throughout their childhood and adolescence. Suddenly, theyre
thrust into this new environment with so many more choices they have the freedom to make for
themselves, not the least of which what they eat. Put yourself in a college freshmans placeif
you walked into a dining hall loaded with foods like pizza, Chick-fil-A, traditional Southern
food, and burgers, and out of the corner of your eye, you spy a measly salad bar with slimy
lettuce, what would you choose? This is the reality of many college campusesmost of the
unhealthy food is simply more appealing.
College students are also, as a whole, a sleep-deprived population. Most students dont
get as much sleep as is recommended for their age group and development, and research has
shown that humans tend to crave junk food even more when tired. Healthy eating is also
impacted on what others around you are eating. This has shown to be more prominent in
femalesif your friends are picking at small, undressed salads at dinner, you are likely to eat
little as well. If your friends are picking large portions of unhealthy food, you are likely to do the
same. Both are not healthy eating habits. Eating has also become a social event for the younger
population in particular, which leads to things like girls night involving and encouraging the
overeating of junk food.

Holly Skinner
ENG 2001
Hypertext Essay Draft #1
Another factor that contributes to how college students and young people in general eat is
familial influence. If a family exhibits mostly unhealthy eating habitssay, fast food multiple
times a week and rarely any vegetables or fruitsthe children, when faced with choosing their
own meals for the first time, will most likely not choose healthy options. This is not always the
case, but there is a certain aspect of eating related to familiarity, or picking foods you are used to
and know you like. Studies have also shown that a regular, sit-down dinner greatly contributes to
the overall better health of young people, which carries on to healthy choices in college. One
study came to the conclusion that having parents present at family dinners correlates with better
consumption of fruits, vegetables, and dairy products, as well as less skipped breakfasts by
adolescents.
A huge part of college for almost all students is stress. Schoolwork and classes are the
biggest stress source for most students, but factors such as being away from home for the first
time and family issues also contribute to college students stress level. Stress has been shown to
have a significant impact on the way college students eat, and stress combined with a busy
schedule can lead to terrible eating habits. Some people eat a lotmostly junk foodwhen
stressed, and some eat very little to nothing. Either approach of eating while stressed is
unhealthy. While this is the general consensus, one study indicates that eating more when
stressed and less when content may actually not be such a bad habit. Regardless, there is an
indisputable association between stress and eating habits that college students need to be
conscious of.
Staying away from unhealthy foods is more difficult than we realize, and making a
conscious decision to eat well can be difficult for everyone, especially college students.
Establishing healthy eating habits early in life can have lifelong positive effects, just as

Holly Skinner
ENG 2001
Hypertext Essay Draft #1
unhealthy habits can have negative effects later in life. Trying to maintain healthy eating habits
and a healthy weight is important, and there a variety of methods to keep on track. Finally,
having a positive attitude and attainable goals is an extremely important part of successfully
changing eating habits. Though it may be tempting to succumb to the typical college diet, there
are many resources accessible to students for establishing healthy eating habits that will carry on
throughout their lives.