With the beginning of college life, we are far away from our parents and also have more flexible time. In addition to attending classes and doing homework, we socialize, attend activities and parties, college students lead busy lives.

So, under such circumstances, how much do college students pay attention to their diet and health?

As a college student, do you often eat fast food or processed food? Have an irregular diet or even skip meals when you’re too busy with school work? Snack or drink often?

These are all unhealthy eating habits.

“I’m a pretty big snacker, I know I need to cut it out and I need to exercise, but I just can’t cancel them out,” said IU sophomore Ansley Reid.

Reid also said she often went to the store to buy unhealthy food for lunch because of the long lines at the IMU.

“That can be a challenge when there’s a lot of tasty and unhealthy food, that’s just very convenient and you can get it any time,” said Katie Shepherd from IU Student Health Center. “Of course, there’s the salad, but there’s always going to be the pizza, the burger, and french fries because that’s very popular.”

This is a big problem, according to a New York University study that found that the average college student eats one to three fast-food meals a week. And many college students overlook the importance of fruits and vegetables, which are an important part of a healthy diet.

In 2014, it was reported that up to 95 percent of college students did not eat the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables.

So Katie Shepherd has some advice for IU students:” Just taking a small amount of time every week, like writing down, like making a shopping list and thinking about like how you will getting all of your different food groups like your fruits and vegetables and what you want to create or make.”

It turns out that many college students don’t eat well enough. These bad eating habits can be even worse during busy, concentrated periods like the final week, and can affect students’ overall health, as well as their energy and concentration.

Ansley Reid:” When I am facing a stressful situation, I like eating a lot, mostly junk food. Or sometimes when I am anxious, and it just really depends on how my stress is manifesting itself, sometimes I eat a lot, but sometimes I don’t eat anything.”

And some students don’t have time to cook healthy meals or even eat on time because they are busy with exams.

According to reports, unhealthy eating in college can not only lead to illness, fatigue, and other adverse side effects but also lead students to get lower grades.

With the weather getting colder, that means finals week is not far behind us. Katie Shepherd suggests:” Kind of thinking about on days when you’re really busy, what are you gonna do if you don’t have time to cook a healthy meal.”

Katie Shepherd is also the IU Student Health Center registered dietitian, she shares some quick, easy recipes on their YouTube Nutrition playlist, which allows IU students to reference and make healthy meals easily and quickly.

Fast food is affordable and easy to get, your health is more important. In addition to your study, students themselves also need to realize the importance of eating right every day. Make changes for your health, right now.