Monday, August 23, 2010
With beads of sweat glistening on her forehead, Kendra Brummer counts repetitions to herself while lifting weights at the Ambler Student Recreation Fitness Center. Although it’s hard work, Brummer, a sophomore from Abilene, said she enjoys exercising.
“I feel better about myself. I have more energy after I exercise, and I can concentrate better on my schoolwork,” Brummer said.
But Brummer could be doing more than just burning calories. According to a new study published at the beginning of this month, she could also be reducing her chances of cancer.
The study, which was published by the American Institute for Cancer Research, found that the habits college students establish while they are in school could affect whether they develop cancer and other chronic diseases later in life. The study warned that if students allow unhealthy habits to creep into their everyday schedules — such as eating fast food, drinking excessively and not exercising on a regular basis — they could turn into lifelong routines that are difficult to reverse.
“If a student becomes sedentary and eats high fat food in college, he or she is more likely to continue with these habits which are linked to increased weight and all the diseases we associate with being overweight,” said Ann Chapman, a dietician at Watkins Memorial Health Center.
The study’s results showed that it was important for college students to establish a healthy relationship with food so they could continue to eat healthily after they graduated. Chapman said students should focus on balancing meals, managing weight and excercising regularly.
“Balancing out the meal with produce fills us up and gives us critical nutrients to improve our health and help with weight management,” Chapman said. “It’s not as difficult as you think to include more produce in the diet.”
The study recommended that students plan their meals ahead of time rather than just eating whatever is available to them when their stomachs start to rumble. Chapman said she agreed.
“Planning ahead is critical because if you don’t you often go too long without food and then eat whatever is quickest and most convenient,” Chapman said. “This results in pan pizzas for lunch or a cheeseburger and fries.”
The study emphasized regular physical activity as a key ingredient to cancer prevention. Chapman suggested that students should approach exercise as if it was a required class they have enrolled in for the semester. That way, hitting the gym becomes a requirement and not an option.
Alcohol was also a main culprit highlighted in the study’s findings. The study stated that there was a direct link between alcohol and cancer risk, so the fewer beers a student chugs in his or her lifetime, the better.
Jenny McKee, health educator at Watkins, said on top of its potential long-term effects, alcohol could also cause illness related to hangovers, a depressed immune system and could affect students’ memory foundation as well.
“Alcohol does not contain any nutrients needed by the body to function correctly and cannot be used as energy,” McKee said.
— Edited by Roshni Oommen
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