Health center says UO student
leaner than average American
■ Obesity in the general
population is about four times
more prevalent than among
students at the University
By Eric Martin
Oregon Daily Emerald
University students are substan
tially less obese on average than
the general population of the Unit
ed States, the University Health
Center reports.
About 1,100 students here — or
5.9 percent of the 19,091 registered
for fall term — are obese, accord
ing to Dr. Gerald Fleischli, director
for the health center.
“It doesn’t look like students are
getting more obese,” Fleischli said.
“We’ve not seen that change at the
average or the extremes.”
The health center has tracked
obesity-related statistics on
campus for the last nine years.
Fleischli said perhaps the limited
duration of the annual study
should serve as a caveat when de
termining a comprehensive trend
among students. Nonetheless, the
data points to a student population
trimmer than average Americans.
“Maybe college students are not
seeing the increase in obesity of
the general population,” Fleischli
said.
Obesity is 50 percent more com
mon among Americans today than
it was in 1960, the National Insti
tutes of Health report. One-quarter
of U.S. adults are obese and less
than half register a healthy weight.
Obesity, different from being
overweight, refers to an individual
with an abnormally high percent
age of body fat, Fleischli said. A
ripped body builder could be over
weight and not obese, for example,
because he or she has a high con
centration of muscle.
Health organizations determine
obesity differently using an array
of measurements. The standard is
the Body Mass Index, the formula
used by the health center, which
calculates obesity by an individ
ual’s height and weight.
Fleischli said an individual with
a BMI of 30 or greater is obese and
that medical treatment isn’t con
sidered until a student reaches that
point. He said the 5.9 percent of
University students that are obese
are 30 BMI or greater — a thresh
Campus and U.S. obesity rates
All UQ students
Source; National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Diabetics and Digestive Kidney Diseases
and the University Health Center
Scott Abts Emerald
old students can reach or exceed
because of a number of factors.
“Some students are clueless
about proper diet,” he said. “One
student told me she had a Twinkie
for breakfast, herbal tea for lunch
and ice cream for dinner. She was
asking me, ‘Do you think that’s ad
equate?”’
There are many healthy meal
choices for students as long as a
balance, variety and moderation of
different foods are included, said
Kristen Olmos, a University health
education instructor. But she said
almost as important is the emo
tional relationship a person has
with the food they eat.
“There are many people out
there eating what you and I would
say is a really healthy diet —
grains, chicken, fruits and vegeta
bles,” she said. “But they do so at
the expense of labeling the food
they put in their mouths as good
and bad.”
Olmos said if a person knows
the benefits or shortcomings of the
foods they eat, a little slice of
chocolate cake or a flame-broiled
cheeseburger can fit into their diet
without adverse effects.
“That, as opposed to giving emo
tions to a food,” Olmos said. ‘“If I
dip my fries in ranch, I’m bad.’
That kind of thing.”
But for some, putting on excess
pounds is unavoidable even with a
nutritious diet because of the
genes passed on by their parents.
“Students should look at their
family history and get a sense for
their genetics and factor that into
their food choices,” health educa
tion director Paula Staight said.
Psychological factors also can
contribute to obesity. Stress, trau
ma and low self-esteem can affect
a student’s eating habits, but “it
If you are interested in talking with
someone about obesity, or simply
wantto learn more, contact:
Or, Vivian Barnette, senior staff
therapist for the Counseling and
Testing Center, 346-3227 or
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/-couns
el/Giinical.htm. Office located on the
second floor of the University Health
Center, 1590 E. 13th, Appointments
on a drop-in basis,
Kristen Otmos, health education
instructor for the health center, 346
2794 or http://healthed.uoregon.edu.
Office located in the basement of the
health center, Call to make an
appointment.
Weight Control information Network,
established in 1994to provide current
science-based information on obesity,
physical activity, weight control and
related nutritional health issues,
1-877-946-4627 or
www.nkldk.nib.gov/heatth/hmrlt/winb
ro/winbro1.htmf.Callt0tlfree.
has not been established that (obe
sity) is consistently associated
with a psychological or behavioral
syndrome,” said Vivian Barnette,
senior staff therapist for the Coun
seling and Testing Center.
Barnette said students wishing
to lose weight can try one of sever
al strategies, including working
with an individual, group or team.
“The team approach might
include psychologists, medical
doctors, nutritionists, exercise spe
cialists and physical therapists,”
Barnette said.
“Additionally, one should be
knowledgeable about some of the
myths, like being obese means no
willpower.”
E-mail reporter Eric Martin
at ericmartin@dailyemerald.com.
Harding
continued from page 1
and then once we get it on a local
level, then taking it to the state level
— working up in a ladder ap
proach. Getting that backing from
everyone else lends a lot more cred
ibility to the entire situation.
Q: What specific campus-orient
ed initiatives will you champion?
A: First of all, the energy fee we
have right now was created in a
time when we were having an ener
gy crisis. Now I don’t see there be
ing as much of a need for it.
I also want to approach the issue
of viewership over Ethernet that the
University has.
One idea we have is to (create) a
professor’s day, .kind of like when
they used to have those teacher in
service days in high school. There’s
no reason why we can’t have some
thing like that at the University to
show professors they are appreciat
ed. We want to keep the good pro
fessors that we have here.
Q: How do you define diversity?
And how do you plan on bringing
together the diverse voices on
campus?
A: I think the greatest diversity
that exists within our campus,
since it is primarily straight and
white, is that you have to look at
the people and what they’re into,
like what sort of music do people
listen to. Are they really into sports
at the University of Oregon, are
they really into, say, the Survival
Center? I think that’s where the real
diversity lies.
I would like to have some sort
of event where all of these groups
can come together. Things like
that, I think they go a long way to
kind of wake students up and say,
“Wow, it’s not just me that’s on
campus.”
Q: If two student groups were at
odds with each other, how would
you resolve the conflict?
A: I think the first thing you have
to look at is, what is for the better
ment of the majority of students on
campus. You just have to weigh
sides, and then you have to talk to
the senate; you have to talk to your
executive; you have to talk to stu
dents on campus.
Q: If you could change one thing
about the University instantly,
what would it be? , .
A: I guess I would change the as
sociation people have with it as an
educational institution. I don’t
think that on the whole there is a
good enough association with the
school and the education that it
provides.
Q: How would you do things dif
ferently than the current ASUO Ex
ecutive?
A: I like people to be kind of
loose, relaxed. I don’t like people to
be tense. What I focus on is moti
vating people — getting people ex
cited about what we’re doing and
showing them that there are payoffs
to what they’re doing, aside from
just benefits to themselves. They
can improve the University by just
getting a little excited about things
and carrying that over.
So I guess, the one thing that I
would change or do differently is
just be more excited about things,
be more active, be more verbal. I’m
not really one to jump up in front of
everybody, but I also want people
to know that the ASUO Exec, is
willing to be there for anything any
one needs, anytime.
E-mail student activities editor Kara Cogswell
at karacogswell@dailyemerald.com.
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