By Travis Crum
Eat the stress away. - CREDIT: FLICKR
It is no secret that in recent years, obesity rates have soared, with America being one of the fattest countries, with West Virginia in particular to blame.
How much of the nation’s obesity population is due to their management of stress? The term “eat their feelings” takes on a new term at West Virginia University as students turn their exams, portfolios and essays into fried food, soda and cake.
Convenience to go
The Mountainlair, the center of WVU, is a popular hub for hungry students. The ‘Lair’s food court attracts students who are cramming for a test, working on a project with a group or reading through chapters. Where there is studying, there is stress.
“I study in the Lair every day. If I want to eat something when I’m stressing out, my only options are fried food and pizza,” said sophomore general studies major, Carissa Kuykendall. “I can’t study on an empty stomach, so I have no choice but to eat the food they have offered.”
The lack of healthy food alternatives is a common complaint that has risen in recent years, thanks the nation’s focus on obesity. The ‘Lair only has a few options for students who want to eat healthy.
Quiznos was added last year because of the growing popularity of ‘smart’ or healthy eating at WVU, said Mountainlair Director Mike Ellington.
“I don’t really like Quiznos so I have to pack my lunch sometime,” Kuykendall said. “I try to eat healthy, but during finals week, I usually find myself eating stuff like chips, cookies and cake.”
Follow the Mellow Yellow brick road
Food is not the only contributing factor to weight gain in stress eaters. Soda, high in sugars, is consumed in large amounts due to the energy it provides. These drinks are high in caffeine and are used by worried studiers to give them the concentration to cram for a test.
“Sodas that are high in sugar are actually a lot of times more fattening than the food we consume,” said Davis Thompkin, a nutritionist at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va. “I always tell students to completely cut soda from their diet when they are worried about the weight gain from stress eating. It’s really not healthy.”
Slim real fast
Some stressed out students have turned to help from their doctors to combat the way they eat during test times. The drug, Adipex, is commonly subscribed because of its strong ability to give energy and to suppress appetite.
“I literally haven’t eaten anything in three days,” said senior business major Jerald Wallen. “It’s like prescription crack because I can take one pill and be wired from it all day. The energy just makes you feel like you can do 100 things at once. I can study all night without feeling the need to snack on anything.”
Its accessibility in recent years has raised the drug to abused status. Like the energy supplier Adderall, Adipex is often not taken by the obese but by the college student who doesn’t want to gain weight as they are studying.
“All I had to do was visit a fat doctor and tell them I wanted the pill,” Wallen said. “I am in no way overweight. The doctor pretty much gave me the pill because I told him I wanted to study more.”
Edited by: Taryn Eby and Kelly Barnard
