Somewhere between studying for exams and remembering to turn in homework, students forget the very first thing they ever learned—how to eat. Whether UF students live on campus or commute regularly, they seem to share many of the same nutritional habits. Having too little time and even fewer choices are the problems students encounter most often while living the campus life. "I firmly believe students could eat better than they are," said Maurice Marshall, UF professor of food science and human nutrition. Marshall, who received his doctorate in food science from Ohio State University, knows all about the dos and don'ts of nutrition. Having taught numerous UF undergraduates in his popular course, Man's Food, he knows just as much about the nutritional habits of students. He recognizes two key elements of a healthy nutritional plan that students should adopt—moderation and variety. UF students living a fast-paced lifestyle often succumb to those two dirty little words—fast food. While Marshall said eating the occasional slice of pizza or french fry isn't bad, he did stress that frequenting those quick-serving establishments can be harmful. "There is no such thing as a bad food," Marshall said. "Moderation is really a key." Frequently visiting the vending machines that dot campus can lead to another nutritional downfall for students. These "slot machines" usually contain snacks with low nutritional densities, meaning they have little nutrients but many calories. Finding foods with high nutritional densities is the key to smart snacking. Marshall suggests fresh fruits and vegetables as healthy, nutrient-filled snacks for the on-the-go Gator. Cheese sticks can serve as a great source of calcium in students' diets, and peanut butter can also be a smart, as well as quick, addition. "There is no single food—you have to eat a variety of different things," Marshall said. While choosing the wrong foods is a problem for many students, not eating enough is another issue many UF students have recently been facing. "The major trend that I've noticed is in women—it is that they don't get as many calories as they need," Marshall said. Students in his Man's Food course are required to keep a four-day journal of everything they eat and submit it. Seeing hundreds of these assignments each semester led Marshall to notice a consistent pattern of women consuming only 1,000 to 1,400 calories a day, and he is confident that appearance-related worries are to blame. It is important for students involved in the highly active campus lifestyle to intake enough calories and nutrients. For the average UF woman, Marshall suggests a minimum daily calorie intake of approximately 1,500. The average UF male needs between 2,400 and 3,500 calories a day. UF students need to make wise nutritional choices to avoid heart disease, diabetes and other health problems that can develop now and haunt them in the future. Marshall offers his rule of thumb as an additional tool for students concerned with smart nutrition. "If it's good for you, it tastes like crap," he said. | 
