Spring Break
Fair Encourages Fiber, Fitness
Madeline Ward
Issue date: 3/21/07 Section: News
"Just Eat It," said Weird Al Yankovich in his infamous parody of Michael Jackson's hit song, "Beat It." At yesterday's Nutrition and Fitness Fair, students learned why they shouldn't "just eat it," why they gained the freshman 15 and the benefits of fiber.
Common sense advice was dispensed, ranging from the familiar plea to eat breakfast in the morning, to the fact that binge drinking can cause rapid weight gain.
The set up provided students with valuable information in a fun environment. Over 200 students attended. Students were given a taste of Whitney Dining Hall's take on chicken fettuccini.
"I learned about ways to improve diet," said Katie Hanson, a 6th-semester pharmacy major.
The Nutritional Club's table featured fiber as this year's topic.
"There are two different types of fiber," said Diane Pulaski, an 8th-semester nutritional science major. "Soluble fiber is derived from plants - it is a kind that lowers your cholesterol."
The booth encouraged students to eat whole wheat products, such as Cheerios, Shredded Wheat and natural popcorn, not the grease saturated movie popcorn.
Products containing soluble fiber prevent colon cancer, which could potentially "fester into a cancerous mass" if a sufficient amount of the fiber is not ingested. The best advice she gave was for all students to "drink water when eating high fiber foods." Anyone not heeding that advice could suffer dire consequences such as constipation and cramps.
The Recreational Services office was represented and offered students information on popular and alternative sports on campus.
"We're here to encourage students to be active," said Michael Dalfonso, coordinator of fitness and wellness for the recreation department. "We have intramural volleyball, bowling league, and inner tube water polo."
He added that the UConn adventure race was also coming up. It features teams of three competing in running, paddling and other challenges, saying that it is, "kind of like 'Survivor' meets 'The Amazing Race.'"
Pulaski commented on the recent high fructose controversy.
"There are related links between obesity rising and high fructose corn syrup," she said. "But on what relation it is not known."
The SHAPE organization, commissioned from Health Services, gave advice on the dangers of bad body image on the campus.
"People hope to lose weight faster than is appropriate," said Cindy Robinson, an 8th-semester psychology and nutritional sciences major. "The appropriate amount of weight to lose is one pound a week."
Students received the fair well.
"I was only there for five minuets, but from what I heard it was very informative and nice," said Serena Lo, a 2nd-semester business major.
Common sense advice was dispensed, ranging from the familiar plea to eat breakfast in the morning, to the fact that binge drinking can cause rapid weight gain.
The set up provided students with valuable information in a fun environment. Over 200 students attended. Students were given a taste of Whitney Dining Hall's take on chicken fettuccini.
"I learned about ways to improve diet," said Katie Hanson, a 6th-semester pharmacy major.
The Nutritional Club's table featured fiber as this year's topic.
"There are two different types of fiber," said Diane Pulaski, an 8th-semester nutritional science major. "Soluble fiber is derived from plants - it is a kind that lowers your cholesterol."
The booth encouraged students to eat whole wheat products, such as Cheerios, Shredded Wheat and natural popcorn, not the grease saturated movie popcorn.
Products containing soluble fiber prevent colon cancer, which could potentially "fester into a cancerous mass" if a sufficient amount of the fiber is not ingested. The best advice she gave was for all students to "drink water when eating high fiber foods." Anyone not heeding that advice could suffer dire consequences such as constipation and cramps.
The Recreational Services office was represented and offered students information on popular and alternative sports on campus.
"We're here to encourage students to be active," said Michael Dalfonso, coordinator of fitness and wellness for the recreation department. "We have intramural volleyball, bowling league, and inner tube water polo."
He added that the UConn adventure race was also coming up. It features teams of three competing in running, paddling and other challenges, saying that it is, "kind of like 'Survivor' meets 'The Amazing Race.'"
Pulaski commented on the recent high fructose controversy.
"There are related links between obesity rising and high fructose corn syrup," she said. "But on what relation it is not known."
The SHAPE organization, commissioned from Health Services, gave advice on the dangers of bad body image on the campus.
"People hope to lose weight faster than is appropriate," said Cindy Robinson, an 8th-semester psychology and nutritional sciences major. "The appropriate amount of weight to lose is one pound a week."
Students received the fair well.
"I was only there for five minuets, but from what I heard it was very informative and nice," said Serena Lo, a 2nd-semester business major.
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