Healthy Eating Advice

Reduce sugar intake when you can
- Soda, and coffee drinks tend to have a lot of sugar in them
Drink plenty of water
Try to have a varied diet
- Choose different fruits and veggies to keep things interesting
Bring a meal from home rather than purchasing fast food
- This will save you money too

College Health

A proper diet and good nutrition is hard to achieve as a student, especially when living on campus. A lack of time and money means food must be convenient and cheap. This type of cheap eating tends not to be good for a person though. In nevada 25-30% of adults had reported being obese in 2018 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2019). The good news is that obesity trends down as a person becomes more educated; where only 24.7% of college graduates were obese compared to 33.1% of adults who only graduated high school (CDC, 2019). The bad news is that as you age you are more likely to become obese with 18.1% of 18-24 year olds reporting obesity and 36.9% of adults aged 45-54 were obese (CDC, 2019).

Data from the American College Health Association collected in the spring of 2019 from undergraduate students across the nation showed that (American College Health Association, 2019):

Only 3.6 % of college students were eating five or more servings of vegetables per day
22.3 % were getting 2-3 servings per day
57.9 % of college students were at a healthy weight according to BMI; 5.2% were underweight, 22.3 % were overweight, 14.6 % were considered obese

Dietary Guidelines

Based on a 2,000 calorie diet, it is recommended to include (2015–2020 Dietary guidelines for americans, 2015):

2 cups of fruit per day
6 ounces of grains per day
3 cups of dairy per day
5.5 ounces of protein per day
27 grams of oils

Helpful Resources

UNLV’s campus is full of resources for nutritional success. Here is a list of some of the many available resources:

Campus Dietician - For any students wishing to receive help with nutrition, a Registered Dietician Nutritionist is able to help!
Nutrition Center - The nutrition center has many handouts that can quickly be referenced regarding many aspects of nutrition.
UNLV Food Pantry - For students, faculty and staff, the food pantry is open during select dates and times to help those who are in need of additional food. If you are able to help and are willing to make a donation they would welcome that as well.
ChooseMyPlate - This is a government website full of information that can help you make decisions about what to eat, find new recipes, or guide you into healthier eating.