Valerie Truong carves spoonfuls from a heaping vanilla ice cream cone freckled with rainbow sprinkles.

Truong, University College freshman, said she couldn't remember the last time she ate a home-cooked meal, and the frozen treat constituted a major part of her dinner that evening.

Truong is one of many college students trying to balance the demands of college life and concerns about nutrition and fitness.

Midterm exams magnify the demands on students' time and affect nutritional choices.

Time and money are the biggest factors in students' decisions about what they eat, said Holly Hull, graduate teaching assistant for health and exercise sciences.

Taking care of your diet is more about time management than anything else, said Stephanie DeBerry, health and exercise sciences senior.

Erratic schedules and increased options cause the eating habits of freshmen to decline. A Tufts Longitudinal Health Study states that 59 percent of college students said they know their diet has gone downhill. The 2002 study was conducted by Tufts University in Medford, Mass., and is posted on their Web site.

"My diet declined at first. As a freshman, I gained so much weight," said Chuck Smallwood, biochemistry senior. "Now that I'm a senior, it's much better."

Truong said changes in her life at OU have altered her eating habits.

"I eat out any time I have to. My schedule is really messed up," Truong said.

She said she frequents Oklahoma Memorial Union and Couch Cafeteria and makes five trips to Burger King each week.

It is not feasible for students living in the dorms to prepare their own meals which makes it difficult to eat healthy, Truong said.

Students must turn to restaurants on and around campus for their meals.

Ashley Keeling, University College freshman and employee at Couch Express, said she sees the most students during meal exchange hours, especially between 8 p.m. and midnight. The most popular items on the menu are grilled cheese sandwiches and cookies.

"We don't really have anything healthy, except maybe juice and salads," Keeling said. She later added that they were out of salads that day.

Eating in college is also a primary way for students to socialize with each other and the temptation to eat out is always there, Hull said.

Although she said it is difficult, Truong said she is concerned with her fitness and what she eats.

"I go through phases, since I know I'm in danger of gaining weight," Truong said. "I spend two weeks thinking a lot about it and then I forget."

She has reason to be concerned. College women gain an average of 4.5 pounds their freshman year. Men gain an average of 5.5 pounds, according to the Tufts study.

Smallwood said as he became acclimated to the college environment, his time management skills and eating habits improved.

"The habits that you form now are the habits you follow later," Hull said.

Smallwood said he works out three to four times a week and tries to prepare a home-cooked meal every day. He said during stressful times, he cooks less and eats out more.

Hull said students are motivated by myths in their eating habits and that engaging in a healthy lifestyle is not as hard as it seems. An erratic schedule does not mean that you are living an unhealthy lifestyle.

"Students should eat when they're hungry," Hull said. "Listen to your body and determine when it is time to eat."

This applies to all meals except breakfast, Hull said. Breakfast right after you wake up provides you with energy to make it through the day.

Smallwood said eating better and especially eating breakfast has helped him to perform better in his classes.

DeBerry said she has learned in her major that what she thought she knew before was mostly wrong.

"I had a lot of wrong information," DeBerry said. "Don't rely on Cosmopolitan and other magazines. The majority of that is misinformation."

These magazines often follow nutritional fads and rely on questionable sources, so readers can't be sure, DeBerry said.

Truong said she thinks she deserved to keep chipping away at her ice cream cone.

"I think I work hard," Truong said. "It's OK to have ice cream sometimes."
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