The Triangle

Issue date: 1/18/08 Section: Health and Fitness

Media Credit: MCT Campus According to Gregory Dobash, director of Student Health at Drexel, all students should look to the new food pyramid for guidance in determining new diet plans and when exploring safe and healthy ways to lose weight.

With the new year well underway and students getting back into the routine of classes, memories of relaxing at home and enjoying all kinds of delicious meals are quickly fading.

What aren't fading, however, are the traces of winter break - those few extra pounds some pack on.

Though many students choose to go the route of diets, the best way to lose weight and stay healthy has almost nothing to do with "fad" dieting.

According to Gregory Dobash, Drexel's director of student health, the problem stems from a lack of balance in a student's lifestyle.

"They'll come in sick, and I'll ask them about their diet, and they won't have eaten all day," Dobash said. "The problem is that students are so busy that they eat once a day, or grab lunch from the trucks in the morning and don't eat again until eight at night."

Dobash emphasized that stress is also a major factor in student diets.

"I think it is a combination of things. It's a lack of knowledge, it's busy schedules. Drexel students are insanely busy between class work and co-ops, and a lot of students are carrying pretty large course loads and have full-time jobs," Dobash said.

Diet "fads," such as the "water" diet and the "Hollywood" diet, are trends to stay away from, according to Dobash.

"They just frighten me. They really, honestly, just frighten me," Dobash said. "I just think that it's a very dangerous way to lose weight."

Barbara Rideout, an assistant professor of nursing, agreed with Dobash that fad diets are usually ineffective.

"Diet is a four letter word. Anybody can go on a low-calorie diet, fad or otherwise, and lose weight. But the problem is, usually we can't maintain that low level of calorie intake, and as soon as we stop eating at that low level, it comes right back," Rideout said. "It becomes a futile cycle."

Dobash said he encourages taking a slower approach to losing weight.

"I've always been a firm believer in weight management being an issue of supply and demand. If you're taking in more calories than you're expending, those excess calories are going to be stored in fat. If you figure out a good way to bring in good calories and expend more than you're taking in, well, that's a pretty good recipe for weight loss," Dobash said.

Continued...

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