Living a Healthy College Life

Many college students believe they are maintaining a healthy lifestyle, but do they know the in's and out's of what is required to be considered healthy?

College students are faced with a variety of choices on a daily basis. Whether or not to binge drink or catch up on sleep over the weekend, whether to eat an apple or a cookie for dessert, or whether or not to watch TV on the couch or go to the gym for a workout.

Unfortunately, many health experts claim that the majority of college students are not making the correct choices.

In regards to binge drinking, a popular college student pass-time, certified dietician Jane Reagan of the Women's Health Division in Wardenburg Health Center says, “When you're binge drinking, it's also easier to binge eat. Alcohol lowers your blood sugar levels which causes you to be more hungry. It lowers your inhibitions so you're more likely to eat maybe the chocolate cake that you wouldn't eat.”

When 50% of adults and 16% of children in Boulder County are overweight or obese, this is an obvious health concern.

Reagan's best advice to maintaining a healthy lifestyle while in college is to eat well, exercise at least 5 times per week, get at least 8 hours of sleep per night, watch your stress levels, and wash your hands more often than you think is necessary.

As for eating healthy, Reagan claims that a good guideline is to have 50% of the food on your plate be vegetables. According to her research, about 90% of all people do not get the recommended amount of vegetables. Not only will this improve the obesity epidemic, but it will also help students keep down their stress levels and sleep better.

Along with eating well, the right amount of sleep, refraining from binge drinking, exercising and washing your hands, comes the healthy lifestyle so many college students desire to obtain and maintain.