Spring Break
Guess how much you just ate
Emily Abbate
Issue date: 4/24/09 Section: Focus
Disclaimer: Although many students will not drink this Spring Weekend, the weekend attracts roughly 30,000 underage drinkers to off-campus areas surrounding UConn, according to The Hartford Courant.
"Excessive alcohol consumption can contribute to you injuring yourself or others," Anna Surdykowski, registered dietician in Student Health Services' Nutrition and Wellness Office, said. "Drink responsibly to ensure that you have a fun, safe Spring Weekend."
With the warm temperatures in store for the Storrs community, this means drinking earlier in the day is inevitable. Students should assess the amount of alcohol they will be consuming this weekend.
Take this drink list for an example.
Thursday night: three mixed drinks containing two shots apiece and two light beers.
Friday: mimosas in the morning to escape Thursday night's hangover, then head over to Clubhouse Apartments at 3 p.m. to drink another four light beers between numerous games of beer pong.
Then head back home to finish off the bottle of champagne from that morning's mimosas, and polish off at least two more beers.
Saturday: eight light beers and, oops, two cheeseburgers at a friend's "beer"-becue.
Now, let's break down these calories. Overall, our example student consumed 15 light beers throughout the weekend (about 1650 calories), six shots (about 390 calories) and 24 ounces of champagne (504 calories) according to the alcohol calorie counter found on collegedrinkingprevention.gov.
That's a whopping total of 2544 calories of alcohol alone. Keep in mind, this does not include the drink's mixers, nor does it cover those cheeseburgers from Saturday. It also doesn't account for the other late-night food consumed once back home at the end of each night.
So, is there a way to enjoy Spring Weekend in a healthier manner?
Dr. Lori A. Smolin, adjunct faculty in nutritional sciences and longtime instructor of Nutrition 1165, says yes.
"Excessive alcohol consumption can contribute to you injuring yourself or others," Anna Surdykowski, registered dietician in Student Health Services' Nutrition and Wellness Office, said. "Drink responsibly to ensure that you have a fun, safe Spring Weekend."
With the warm temperatures in store for the Storrs community, this means drinking earlier in the day is inevitable. Students should assess the amount of alcohol they will be consuming this weekend.
Take this drink list for an example.
Thursday night: three mixed drinks containing two shots apiece and two light beers.
Friday: mimosas in the morning to escape Thursday night's hangover, then head over to Clubhouse Apartments at 3 p.m. to drink another four light beers between numerous games of beer pong.
Then head back home to finish off the bottle of champagne from that morning's mimosas, and polish off at least two more beers.
Saturday: eight light beers and, oops, two cheeseburgers at a friend's "beer"-becue.
Now, let's break down these calories. Overall, our example student consumed 15 light beers throughout the weekend (about 1650 calories), six shots (about 390 calories) and 24 ounces of champagne (504 calories) according to the alcohol calorie counter found on collegedrinkingprevention.gov.
That's a whopping total of 2544 calories of alcohol alone. Keep in mind, this does not include the drink's mixers, nor does it cover those cheeseburgers from Saturday. It also doesn't account for the other late-night food consumed once back home at the end of each night.
So, is there a way to enjoy Spring Weekend in a healthier manner?
Dr. Lori A. Smolin, adjunct faculty in nutritional sciences and longtime instructor of Nutrition 1165, says yes.
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