Nutrition and Healthy Weight

What and how much you eat strongly influence your physical and mental health. Therefore, nutrition plays a major role in your success. Nutrition and healthy weight are also closely related to physical activity and body image.

Basic nutrition

A healthy eating plan should include 45-60% calories from carbohydrates, 10-35% from protein, and 25-35% from fat. How much of each nutrient you need varies with your caloric intake. For more information on each nutrient, go to www.nutrition.wustl.edu

Healthy eating tips

Select appropriate portion sizes: Choosing healthy portion sizes allows you to eat what you want without ingesting more calories than you can use for energy.
Get the most nutrition out of your calories: Choose foods that provide vitamins and minerals, rather than empty calories from refined sugar and hydrogenated oils
Refuel every 3-4 hours: Your body needs enough calories to get through the activities of the day. Smart Snacking Tips
Drink plenty of fluids: Dehydration is the number one cause of short-term memory loss
Know what you’re eating: Read nutrition and ingredient labels and ask how your food was prepared

How to determine your healthy weight

Body Mass Index is a measure of body weight status, showing body weight adjusted for height. Because it does not take muscle mass or percent body fat into consideration, BMI alone is not diagnostic but it can serve as a useful guideline in determining if your weight is within a healthy range. For adults aged 20 years or older, BMI falls into one of these categories: underweight, normal, overweight, or obese.

Are you concerned about your weight?

If your BMI shows that you are overweight or obese, losing just 10% of your body weight can improve your health by lowering your risk of disease. Being overweight or obese is associated with increased risk for heart disease, certain types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, stroke, arthritis, breathing problems, and psychological disorders, such as depression.

Being under the optimum weight for your height can be normal if you eat a healthy diet and are active and energetic. However, being underweight can be a sign of a problem. Discussing your weight with a medical provider can help you determine if an alteration in your eating and exercising habits is necessary.

Where can you go for help?

Campus Experts

A physician can help you determine if you are at an increased risk for disease and whether you should gain or lose weight. To make an appointment with a physician at Student Health Services, call 314.935.6666.

For more information about healthy eating, call the Student Health Services at 314.935.6666 and ask to make a nutrition appointment with Registered Dietitian Connie Diekman.

If you are concerned about your weight and need support, contact Uncle Joe’s Peer Counseling and Resource Center by calling their 24 hour hotline at 314.935.5099. If you wish to speak to someone in person, visit the Uncle Joe’s office in the basement of Gregg Hall, 10pm-1am nightly.

On-Line Resources

For information about options at the dining facilities on campus, go to www.diningservices.wustl.edu

For information about healthy weight and menu nutrition, visit www.nutrition.wustl.edu

To learn how to choose the foods and amounts that are right for you, go to http://www.mypyramid.gov

Visit the Resource Section of the Center for Disease Control website, http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/calc-bmi.htm, for links to more information on BMI, obesity, physical activity and nutrition.

How can you learn more?

Professional

For nutrition questions, send an email to Connie Diekman, Registered Dietitian (connie_diekman@wustl.edu) or call 314.935-4439.

Connie offers these presentations for groups of students:

Healthy Eating on Campus (can be a dinner with the dietitian)
Facts on Fad Diets
Basics of Healthy Eating
Disordered Eating and its Impact on Health
Healthy Eating for Athletic Performance
Meeting Nutritional Needs of Young Adults
Dining Out Tips
Fast Foods Can Fit into a Healthful Eating Plan
Smart Snack Options
Shopping to Stock a Healthful Room
Hydration Goals and Beverage Choices

Poster packets are available on these topics as well.

Peer

Peer health educators may be available to accompany the dietitian to some programs. Contact Health Promotion Services for more information.