Moderation, sense of smell affect food habits
Campus Wellness hosted a three-week series on intuitive eating and weight management, focusing the final session on the psychology behind eating on Wednesday.
“Most students do have an awareness of what unhealthy eating is. It’s just a matter of environmental factors and not paying attention to hunger and satiety cues that causes overeating,” Deborah Zippel, a campus dietitian, said.
The Wellness Center features multiple series in order to help students with stress, weight loss and a healthy lifestyle.
“Students just weren’t having any success with weight loss, so we decided to have sessions on intuitive eating,” Zippel said.
Amber McKenzie, a computer science doctorate student, explained how intuitive eating has affected her.
“I got tired of using a diet and gaining weight back,” McKenzie said. “I learned that diets tend not to work. Unlike diets, intuitive eating isn’t short term. It’s a lifestyle change. You have to be committed to taking care of yourself and feeling good about yourself. It’s not an easy thing to do.”
McKenzie has been working on intuitive eating for a year, and encourages anyone wishing to make a change to use it.
“If you’re going to try intuitive eating you’re not going to get the immediate results like dieting, but it’s worth it,” McKenzie said. “If you do it, you have to be committed and have support. I highly recommend it. Better than any diet out there.”
The session highlighted the three important factors that enhance taste: scent, visual appeal and sound. Zippel demonstrated the importance of scent by giving each person a Wheat Thin that smelled like mint. Immediately, people in the class made faces and unanimously agreed that the Wheat Thin was unappetizing, even though the actual taste of the wheat thin had not been altered.
“Scent highly impacts your enjoyment of food,” Zippel said. “That’s why people with a cold are less likely to enjoy their food.”
Zippel also stressed the importance of portion control and knowing when you’re full. She asked students to pour cereal into a bowl and compared the amount to a premeasured serving size.
“I always try and use a smaller bowl when I’m eating so I don’t overeat,” Jalavender Clowney, a fourth-year biology student, said.
Zippel also addressed the importance of avoiding distractions while eating.
“Try just to eat and focus on your food,” Zippel said. “People tend to overeat if they’re distracted.”
Students were able to learn what being healthy really means.
“It helped me realize that it’s OK to be who I am. Being healthy plays a key role in my happiness,” Clowney said. “Being healthy doesn’t mean that you have to be a certain size or not be able to eat what