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The dreaded Freshmen-15 is real.

Legend has it freshmen college students gain 15 pounds in their first term. Fact is this is no legend. Going to college doesn’t just mean changing schools, it means changing lifestyles.

Chances are, you’ll be less active than you were in high school. This, combined with bad dining hall food, dorm-room junk food, endless frat parties with bottomless kegs and a slowing metabolism, inevitably leads to one thing — weight gain.

Gaining a few pounds isn’t the only thing you need to worry about, though. Without home-cooking, you’ll probably lack the necessary nutrients your body needs to thrive. On the bright side, it’s possible to stay healthy in college.

By adapting the following tips to your current lifestyle, you can make healthy changes that aren’t so over-bearing you won’t be able to stick with them.

1. You need calcium

Consume about 1,000 mg of calcium daily. Women are at higher risk of developing osteoporosis, a disease which decreases bone density. This develops gradually with age, but adequate calcium intake reduces the risk. Bone density accumulated when you’re young is all you’ll have for the rest of your life, so make sure your bones are as strong as they can be. One eight-ounce glass of milk has about 300 mg, so drinking three glasses of milk a day will provide all the calcium you need. Other foods that are high in calcium include yogurt and cheese. Low-fat dairy products have as much calcium as whole-fat products.

2. You need folic acid

Folic acid is one of the B vitamins. It’s important to intake 0.4 mg of folate a day, especially for women in their child-bearing years. Folate reduces birth defects by regulating DNA synthesis and cell division. It’s also needed for normal red blood cell synthesis. Folic acid can be found in green, leafy vegetables, orange juice and fortified breakfast cereals.

3. Get your daily servings of fruits and vegetables

I know it seems like fresh fruits and vegetables are more expensive than other grocery store items, but they really aren’t. Buy the fruits and vegetables that are on sale. Seasonal items usually cost less. Even if they do cost a little more than a bag of chips, ditch out on the junk food because fruits and vegetables are much more nutrient-dense.

4. Be active

Half an hour of moderate physical activity on most days is recommended to stay healthy. However, longer and more rigorous activities can provide greater health benefits. You’re probably paying a fee to use the student recreation center, so you might as well take advantage of that. Plus, it’s a great way to meet people.

5. Lose a pound a week

One pound equals about 3,500 calories, so reduce your calories by 500 each day and, by the end of the week, you will drop a pound. However, instead of dropping 500 calories from your diet, try dropping 250 and working off the other 250 at the campus recreation center. This way you’re not starving yourself and you can get your recommended amount of activity each day.

6. Eat right in the dining hall

Keep these concepts in mind when choosing foods, whether it’s in the dining hall or at home. Developing these habits now will help to continue a healthy life-style in the future.

Lax testing of food quality in school cafeterias is giving troubling new meaning to the term “mystery meat.”

Congress is making a welcome push for higher food-testing standards following reports from government investigators and newspapers that shone a light on glaring gaps in safety standards.

That comes in the face of numerous challenges to improving the food-safety system in general, as millions of people are sickened and 5,000 die annually from food-borne illnesses. Tracking the source of food contamination remains a major concern, as well as the efficiency of enacting recalls.

With millions of children looking to school lunches for their daily nutrition, it’s critical to assure their safety.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack pledged a fresh review of requirements for ground beef that the USDA supplies to schools. USA Today reported last month that school kitchens have been sent millions of pounds of beef and chicken that wouldn’t meet the quality or safety standards of many fast-food restaurants.

In another media report last week, the USDA was faulted for giving a pass on routine safety tests to a major producer of processed beef. Testing eventually done by the agency for the school lunch program found dozens of E. coli and “salmonella pathogens” in Beef Products meat, the New York Times reported.

A recent report by the Government Accountability Office questioned whether federal agencies are getting out the word to schools about food recalls.

In general, government regulators need to plug holes in the system through which food producers notify federal officials about contamination, such as a 2008 salmonella outbreak that sickened hundreds.

Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., has introduced legislation he says will protect the 31 million children who receive food through the National School Lunch Program.

The companion bill to legislation from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., directs the USDA to bolster its food-testing standards to private industry levels and find ways to speed recalls at schools if problems are found.

Better food safeguards are needed, in general. The fact that the findings concerning processed beef contamination surprised some top USDA officials also points to the need for federal officials to better connect the dots on information regarding food-safety data.

(MCT)

Heather Caygle
Staff Writer
hncaygle@uab.edu
UAB’s Student Alumni Society is leading a canned food drive to help commemorate UAB’s 40th anniversary and tradition of service to the community.
The goal of the food drive is to collect 4,000 cans which will be given to Magic City Harvest to help combat hunger in the Birmingham area.
The food drive will end on Thursday, September 24, coinciding with University Day. The purpose of University Day is to celebrate UAB’s founding 40 years ago and its future.
Everyone at UAB is encouraged to participate in the food drive. “We are working with student organizations on campus, faculty, staff, students and alumni to raise 4,000 items to represent the 40 years,” said Jennifer Breland, Director of Alumni Programs.
Cans and nonperishable food items can be dropped off at boxes located in the Hill University Center, the Commons on the Green, Sterne Library, Lister Hill Library, the Campus Recreation Center and all residence halls.
The Leadership and Service Council is assisting with the food drive and getting the word out to student organizations. Organizations on campus are not required but encouraged to participate.
“We are trying to encourage all the student organizations on campus to get involved. We are asking each student organization to contribute a minimum of 25 cans,” said Chandra Chakravarthi, a member of the Leadership and Service Council.
The top three student organizations that collect the most food items will be recognized by the Leadership and Service Council on University Day. “The top three organizations will receive special recognition and a plaque,” said Chakravarthi.
While not certain how many organizations are participating, Chakravarthi did say that “we have received a lot of people who want to participate.”
One of the organizations participating is Sigma Alpha Lambda, a leadership and honors organization. Christine Higgins, UAB’s chapter president, said Sigma Alpha Lambda’s original goal was 25 cans, but they have already collected over 60.
“I have also had people email me telling me that are going by the HUC to drop off more cans on SAL’s behalf. I am proud that our club was able to donate so much to the cause of hunger,” said Higgins.
“The canned food drive is an extremely important service that UAB provides to the surrounding community. Hunger is still a prevalent force within Birmingham,” Higgins added.
The collected items will be given to Magic City Harvest, a non-profit organization that distributes free donated food to needy non-profit organizations such as soup kitchens, halfway houses and shelters.
The mission of Magic City Harvest is to alleviate hunger, food waste, and malnutrition in the community.
The canned food drive is just one aspect of University Day which will also feature a convocation and luncheon. The convocation will begin at 9:30 in the Alys Stephens Center. UAB students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends are encouraged to attend.

Students must endure long lines at Blazer Cafe despite the renovations made over the summer.

The renovations were supposed to welcome more room into the once claustrophobic regions of Blazer Café.

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