Aaron Thomas | Staff Writer
Full-course loads, part-time jobs, internships, and participation in multiple organizations are demanding aspects of college that often limits the time students have to prepare nutritious foods, forcing them to the drive-thru windows of Cook Out and McDonald’s for $5 Cook Out trays and$2 triple cheeseburgers.
With the start of a new year, many students have resolved to lead healthier lifestyles, promising to adopt better eating habits and indulge in more physical activity. While many have made these resolutions, many will end up giving in to previous unhealthy habits of past semesters.
“It’s so easy to slack off and just get some McDonald’s [or something],” said Arthur Freeman, a junior in sports management. “Eating out is much quicker than actually making something at home.”
Despite giving into fast food temptations from time to time, Freeman commits to working out, four days a week. “I like to do a mix of strength training, cardio, core workouts and more cardio,” said Freeman.
Aside from busy schedules, students should take into account their current health lifestyles and how their decisions will affect them long-term. Diabetes, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol levels are prevalent health problems in the African-American community.
John Miller, a sophomore in psychology and an arts entrepreneurship minor, is one of the millions of African Americans suffering from high cholesterol. “I have high cholesterol because of genetics, so that shaped my dietary habits early,” said Miller. Not a fan of fried foods, Miller cooks his own food whenever possible. “I’m big about having a healthier balanced meal that tastes great.”
In addition to healthy eating habits, Miller stays physically fit as a dancer for the Panoramic Dance Project, DanceVisions, and Koffee Dance Company, getting a good workout in five days a week. “When I picked up dance seven years ago, I just ran with it.”
Conscious of her fitness habits because both her grandmother and aunt are diabetic, and also because of her position on the N.C. State Dance Team, Ebony Edwards, a junior in Biology recommends that students struggling to find a starting point for a healthy lifestyle, “Find a workout that consists of something they enjoy.” “The gym offers a lot of classes that target certain interests and make working out fun,” said Edwards.
While there are ample opportunities for students to start a program and stay committed via Campus Recreation, the African American Cultural Center is sponsoring month long series of Insanity Thursdays in February. For $15, students can participate in four one hour-long sessions of Insanity. Insanity is a workout routine emphasizing “max interval training.” Every Thursday in Feburary there will be an Insanity training at 6 p.m. in 356 Witherspoon, the perfect way for N.C. State’s African American community, to do its part in making insane health disparities within the black community, a thing of the past.
