The most recent issue of Men’s Fitness magazine declared St. Louis the ninth fattest city in America. It claims that “the water quality is bad, ditto the climate and geography, and there’s lots of smoking in lots of bars. The humidity in the summer can be stifling.”
The results were based on a combination of various factors, including the number of fast food restaurants and bars, sporting good stores and gyms per 100,000 people, and number of obese people in the population, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
Even though many find the methods of the study questionable, it still raises important questions concerning the health of St. Louisans and the students of Saint Louis University.
Are most people catching an extra 15 minutes of sleep instead of eating breakfast, how much fast food do students eat, and how can it be avoided?
There seem to be numerous and neverending pitfalls in the modern go-go-go society: A Super-Sized Big Mac Extra Value Meal seems so much easier to pick up than making a healthy, well balanced meal. However, Dr. Ross Brownson, professor in Public Health, and Marjoie Sawicki, assistant professor of Nutrition and Dietetics, have advice that can help the community get back on track.
“People need to remember that it is the little things that can add up,” said Sawicki while explaining that doing smaller tasks throughout the day can help a person stay physically fit.
“Parking further away and walking more, or taking the stairs instead of the elevator are just two activities,” said Brownson.
People still have to make an effort to change their diet as well. On campus, many students are moving away from dorm food and eating more fast food from places like the Pizza Hut at the Billiken Club, or Subway at Fusz.
“If students plan to eat more fast food they need to be careful of what they eat,” said Sawicki. “Subway has their six sandwiches [for six grams of fat], but the sauces are loaded with calories.”
Sawicki pointed out that the University can make efforts to assist students in eating healthier. Introducing cold-food vending machines that sell sandwiches, milk and yogurt can help improve one’s diet because it offers a healthier alternative than the traditional snack machine.
Changing breakfast habits can improve the diet. “Many students sleep later, get their shower and rush to class instead of eating breakfast,” said Sawicki. “Breakfast is important for a balanced diet. By the time someone gets back from class it can be 2 or 3 p.m. and by that time they are ready to eat everything in sight.”
For commuter students Brownson recommends using public transportation if possible, but recognizes that St. Louis does not offer the extensive bus and rail systems that many other cities have.
“Studies have shown that many people in eastern cities have lower blood pressure because they do not deal with the daily commute that many people here have,” said Brownson. “That is something that policy makers need to take into account when looking to expand for the future.”
The writers of Men’s Fitness recommend that you “bypass the Ted Drewes frozen custard (which they describe as “milk shakes”) to find one of the golf courses in the area,” or head to Forest Park.
