By Felipe Rodriguez
East Los Angeles College’s new cafeteria structure brought more food on campus and although it is a great addition, they lack in providing enough healthy options for students. College students usually find it difficult to find time to eat right and keep a healthy lifestyle when they are surrounded by junk food.
Many of these unhealthy food options are relatively cheaper than their healthy counterparts and are usually the main option for many college students. Junk food is commonly the go to for many as it is the quick and cheaper option.
Maintaining a healthy diet as a college student is very difficult. Many students usually find it easy to skip meals when they have classes in the morning. A lot of the time students can’t find time to make meals because they are usually running late and have class very early in the morning. In other cases some college students actually skip meals in order to save money. These situations usually create an imbalance for the rest of their meals throughout the day and eventually create health issues in the long run.
People who enter college usually experience weight problems right away and it’s quite common amongst many college campuses. A phenomenon known as “Freshmen 15” is usually tied into the pounds students usually gain once they start college. These pounds come from eating cheap junk food and following poor diets. College students commonly experience this phenomenon and seem to adapt to unhealthy eating habits throughout the school years.
Recent studies show that in many cases, school cafeterias have a huge effect on college student diets and are usually the main source for college students. A lot of the time, college cafeterias don’t really look after student diets and usually have a negative impact on students diets. Many of these cafeterias offer a variety of unhealthy cheap foods and are usually the common option for many students.
The East Los Angeles College Cafeteria offers quite a variety of different foods and although they put effort in offering healthier options, the amount of junk food options clearly outweigh them. Apart from having a food truck that literally prepares street food, the cafeteria and student cafe offer many food options that are not really healthy to students. From White Castle sliders to Microwavable burritos, many of the items that are offered in the cafeteria can produce health risks if they are constantly consumed.
The most noticeable utensil that is in the campus cafeteria is the microwave. Although microwaves are quick ways to easily heat and prepare food, they are not the healthiest. Many of the foods that are used for microwaves cause health risks and are known for causing cancer.
East Los Angeles College needs to put more effort in putting more food variety on campus and really needs to focus on what students are eating. Weight issues are very common amongst college students and schools need to acknowledge them. East Los Angeles College should put more money into potentially hiring people to cook proper meals rather than leaving microwaves for students to heat up unhealthy meals. Doing so will bring healthy options into the cafeteria and will possibly have a better impact on students diets.