I am a college student. That says something about what I eat but not necessarily anything about what I like to eat.College students diets are affected by many different factors. Whether the student lives on or off campus, what his/her friends feel about food, what the student personally believes about food, how the food tastes, how convenient food is, how healthy food is, price, and weight concerns are all factors that affect food choices in college students (Deshpande 2009).
Here in Angers lunch time is sandwich central. Quick, easy and satisfying, the French are more than happy to have a delicious sandwich with bread baked that morning heaped with butter and cheese some sort of meat (but not necessarily). Here in France, the meal deals of the day do not include just a huge amount of food and drink for a reasonable price but rather a two course meal; the French find it preposterous to go without dessert.
Dessert is most often thought of as a pleasure course. But for the French, all the courses are pleasure courses. The French have the greatest association between food and pleasure, while Americans tend to associate food with health. Americans recognize, however, that their eating habits are not the healthiest (Rozin et al. 1999). Considering the French paradox, the fact that the French have low rates of Cardiovascular disease despite their high intake of fats, could the added stress around meal time Americans like to throw on their fat-free salad increase our susceptibility to CVD (Ferrieres 2004).? Maybe we should ask our doctor what kind of chill pill pairs best with our pesticide infused BLT. Maybe just the LT, because bacon is expensive; they can’t give you all those added growth hormones for free! Do not forget, that LT comes with a side of pesticides. Mmmm, cancer.
Ok, enough with the American tease. We have good habits in the States, also. Tobacco smoking, is fairly low in the States with 17.8% of the adult population (CDC). It is astonishing to see that 26% of French women from ages 15 and older smoke (World Bank). A funny story was shared with me about a French couple’s trip to French Polynesia. Their travels went fairly seamlessly even with their convoluted flight connections. Their hiccup was as they were trying to buy cigarettes for their stay, since in French Polynesia it is only permitted to sell one pack per person in comparison to France where the limit is five. “We had a little bit of a problem with that, so we explained that we are French and that one would not do”. This was the most problematic thing for them, even more so than food poisoning.
Smoking in France, and most of Europe really, begins early. The legal age to buy cigarettes in France is 18. There is evidence of increasing smoking among European college students across the board, France increasing from 28.4% in 1990 to 31.5% in 2000 (Steptoe et al. 2002). I would say this aligns similarly with my experiences with smoking both in the US and in France. In the US, people are shocked to see me smoke a cigarette. “I would never think you SMOKE!” is a comment I get frequently. In Angers, students, mostly female, will frequently ask me for a lighter, to their surprise I am usually empty handed. There is no doubt tobacco is a highly intrusive substance in human culture since “most of the hunter-gatherers whose health has been studied smoke cigarettes..” (Lieberman).
Something I feel the US could borrow from the French is their on campus cafeteria food. A meal at Ragsdale Hall, for example, usually runs you about $6.50. The taste could be questionable but usually it is at least passable. At the cafeteria on the ground floor of the Grand Palais, you can get a fairly decent tasting meal for €3.75. Now when you consider the conversion rate, things start to get a little fishy. How is it possible that students can get a better tasting possibly better sourced chicken meal which includes a piece of fruit plus a yogurt for dessert for less than $4 ( adequately portioned)? Why do students need a minimum of $5 (more like $7 if you want a drink) for a grilled cheese and tomato soup meal on an on campus cafeteria in the States? Some could make an argument that this adds more stress to meal time. I do believe the US should be more concerned with feeding its people quality foods, especially its future generations.
Think about it a little. Why it is common, almost expected, to gain “the freshman 15”? Based on my personal experience during my freshman year, it is because meal plan allows you to have access to ridiculous amounts candy, soft drinks, energy drinks, coffee drinks which you then load with sugar and many times milk or cream, and ,oh yeah, some meals. Many of which can be chicken strips with salty buffalo sauce or a cheeseburger and fries anytime or as many times a day you please. Sure, this relates most directly to living on campus, so we look to the coffee culture. Many people in both France and the US drink coffee. Americans drink an average of 2.1 cups of coffee a day. Women tend to prefer lattes, while men prefer regular coffee. About half the population of coffee drinkers add sweeteners to their coffee. Americans consume about 3-5 times as much caffeine as the recommended daily average, yet the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans allows for 3-5 cups of coffee a day with no additives (Ledbetter 2015). We have a distorted amount of caffeine available and convoluted information about how much caffeine is appropriate to consume. Our coffee consumption can’t help but seem out of whack when compared to the French whose portion size alone makes us look like junkies.
There is no doubt that the French system does a better job of supporting its students. Leaving them no financial barrier to keep them from a collegiate education, offering many discounts and social security assistance for students as well as the rest of the population. The quality of instruction does differ, I believe, and does count for a lot.
Steptoe, Andrew et al. “Trends in smoking, diet, physical exercise and attitudes towards health in European University Students”. Preventive Medicine 35, 97–104 (2002). American Health Foundation and Elsevier Science. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
DESHPANDE, Sameer et al. “Factors Influencing Healthy Eating Habits Among College Students: An Application of the Health Belief Model”. Health Marketing Quarterly, 26:145–164, 2009. Taylor & Francis Group LLC. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.
Lowry, Richard et al. “Physical activity, food choice, and weight management goals and practices among U.S. college students”. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Vol 18, Issue 1, 18-27. Elsevier Inc. Web. 12 Nov. 2015
“Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults in the United States.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 25 Aug. 2015. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.
“Smoking Prevalence, Females (% of Adults).” Smoking Prevalence, Females (% of Adults). The World Bank Group, 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.
Ferrieres, Jean. “The French Paradox: Lessons for Other Countries.” Heart 90.1 (2004): 107-11. NCBI. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.
Rozin, P. et al. “Attitudes to Food and the Role of Food in Life in the U.S.A., Japan, Flemish Belgium and France: Possible Implications for the Diet–Health Debate”. Appetite, 1999, 33, 163–180. Web. 12 Nov. 2015
Ledbetter, Carly. “How Much Coffee Do Americans Drink Every Day?” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost, 27 Feb. 2015. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.
Lieberman, Daniel. The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease. New York: Random House LLC, 2013. Print.