Healthy eating advice for college kids

Many teenagers gain weight when they head off to college, but they don't have to. Tanya Remer Altmann, MD, shares healthy eating tips to help college kids avoid the dreaded "freshman 15."

Transcript

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Teach them that healthy foods boost moods. College students may get homesick and stress out over exams, roommates, tough professors,

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or even a new relationship. [MUSIC PLAYING]

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Hi. I'm Dr. Altmann. Got teens heading off to college? Then know this. Most college students don't even eat

00:25

one serving of fruits and vegetables a day, let alone the minimum five you and I wish they would. Here's how to encourage your student to eat right,

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even when they're on their own. Point out that a healthy diet is good for the planet. When college students took a course

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on how they could curb global warming by eating more locally grown fruits and vegetables and less meat, processed, and trucked in foods, it worked.

00:48

They changed their eating habits more dramatically than if they were just told it was nutritious. Teach them that healthy foods boost moods.

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College students may get homesick and stress out over exams, roommates, tough professors, or even a new relationship.

01:03

Explain that many fruits and veggies increase levels of the "feel good" hormone serotonin. Appeal to their vanity and remind them

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that healthy eating prevents weight gain. No one wants to put on the dreaded freshman 15. I'm Dr. Altmann.

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For more ways to nourish your family's health, watch all our smart tips right here.