Study shows students have poor eating habits

Nutritionist Ellen Schuster is concerned about the eating behaviors of youth because they tend to continue into adulthood. She believes the focus of chronic disease prevention should start at a young age.

“The younger that we can start them the better, because behaviors are built up over time,” said Schuster, who works for the MU Extension program.

Schuster is discouraged by findings in a collection of health data that depict poor eating habits among the state’s youth.

The Columbia/Boone County Community Assessment is a collection of studies done for Boone County or the state as a whole. One study, conducted by the federal Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, surveyed 1,551 ninth- through twelfth-grade Missouri students in the spring of 2003.

The survey of students’ eating habits in one week found that:

• 16 percent reported eating no fruit.
• 14 percent had eaten no vegetables during the past seven days.
• 3.2 percent had eaten fruit four or more times per day.
• 2 percent had eaten vegetables four or more times per day.

The low numbers worry public health planner Linda Cooperstock of the Missouri Department of Health, but she doesn’t find them surprising. The assessment was designed to point out areas that may need more attention, she said, and youth nutrition is one of those areas.

The findings reinforce Cooperstock’s belief that there needs to be more of a focus on chronic disease prevention and developing healthy eating habits.

Cooperstock was not certain whether local students were part of the survey, but suspects that the statewide sample of 24 schools included Columbia students.

According to the new food pyramid unveiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in April, the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables depends on sex, age and amount of physical activity done that day. For example, a 17-year-old male who does 30-60 minutes of physical activity should eat 3½ cups of vegetables and 2½ cups of fruit each day. A 17-year-old female with the same amount of physical activity needs a minimum of 2½ cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit each day.

The Missouri statistics on fruit and vegetable consumption were not encouraging for Schuster.

“We know, in general, Americans’ diets are low in foods like fruits and vegetables,” she said. “And it seems Missouri is no different.”

Schuster believes a change in societal attitudes is needed. “We have to change the norm,” she said, so that “healthy foods become the norm.”

Cooperstock said the collection of data in the assessment provides a numerical picture of the community.

The Health Department began the second phase of its effort to improve health services last week by putting together four groups: maternal and child health, adolescents, adults, and seniors. The department is also contacting organizations involved with each section of the population in order to find out what can be done to improve health care in Boone County.

For example, Cooperstock hopes that programs will be identified that connect healthy eating with the everyday life of students.

Other agencies “may have a preconceived notion of what the health department does,” she said. “We want to show them that we can do a lot of other things that could help the populations they serve.”