Ideas on Healthier Eating with Dr. Bonnie Braun

In our continuing series on campus eating habits, Dr. Bonnie Braun of the Herschel S. Horowitz Center for Health Literacy shares her thoughts on how a person's upbringing and environment factor into their choices and where the university could go toward creating a healthier campus.

Please note that Dr. Braun wove answers to several questions in her response, so rather than slicing up her thoughts and dropping in the questions, we're posting her thoughts in their entirety. Enjoy:

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I recall in our review of eating fruits and vegetables, that the older a child becomes, more times of exposure, by taste testing, to fruits and vegetables are needed. It's much harder to learn to eat and like a range of foods if not exposed and encouraged to eat early in life.

Everyone is influenced by the environment in which they experience food. On campus, the placement of food on the cafeteria line, the brochures at the table, dietary information at the point of selection could increase knowledge and understanding. Food labeling accompanied by consumer reading and understanding the information, can influence behavior. Doing so demonstrates a health literate person--one who knows and does what which will lead to healthy outcomes.

Young adults are greatly influenced by their peers. If eating a healthy diet were "cool" and influential others were doing so, more students might become part of the "in" crowd--building strong, healthy bodies as they build strong minds.

The University of Maryland--College Park strives toward great expectations of performance. We're addressing environmental concerns and reducing our carbon footprint. With its School of Public Health and Health Center--which leads the nation in provision of personalized services such as nutrition counseling--why not capitalize on these assets and take on the challenge and goal of becoming the healthiest campus in the U.S.? One that produces not just educated graduates but healthy, fit graduates ready to contribute to the health and well-being of this nation?