Everybody knows America has a weight problem, but how prevalent is this problem on campus? Does the university provide meals that satisfy the revised daily food pyramid? Is it even possible to stay skinny at UT? Consider this brief overview of eating healthy on campus.

Physically overweight is defined as having a body mass index (thought of as a measure of body fat on most people) of between 25 and 30. For an average 5-foot-9-inch tall individual, that means weighing between 169 and 202 pounds. Physically obese is defined as having a BMI of above 30. For an average 5-foot-9-inch tall individual, that means weighing 203 pounds or more. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, about two-thirds of Americans 20-years-old and older are considered overweight. About one-third of those people are considered obese.

To put that into perspective, there are 26,400 students enrolled at UT. If the student population is anything like the general American population, that means 17,609 students on campus are overweight, and 8,192 students are obese.

Unless UT’s population has miraculously speedy metabolisms compared to the rest of the country, the overweight problem blankets this campus like syrup on a pancake.

But fear not, for the omniscient federal government provides its citizens with a diagram to manage their everyday diets: The recently revised daily food pyramid. The pyramid lays the ground work for a healthy weight through recommended food servings for a single day. In fact, the Web site (http://www.mypyramid.gov/mypyramid/index.aspx) allows you to type your own numbers in and provides a daily serving amount for each section of the food pyramid.

So, if the average 5-foot-9-inch individual is shooting for a healthy weight (a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9, defined as 125 to 168 pounds), a good median is about 146 pounds. For our example, consider the averages. 20-years-old is the general average age of a UT student, while 5-foot-9-inches is an average height. 146 pounds and 30 to 60 minutes of exercise are safe bets as well. When this data is entered into the applet, it recommends a 2,800-calorie diet (2,400 calories for females of the same proportion). The applet suggests 10 ounces of grains, 3.5 cups of vegetables, 2.5 cups of fruit, three cups of milk (dairy products) and seven ounces of meat and beans per day for a person of this age and size. These numbers aren’t meant to be an exact diet but a guideline for making eating choices.

Eating with the UT campus dining system can meet these requirements. No, not by purchasing a chicken carbonara sandwich at Quizno’s Subs in the UC every day but by considering some of the lesser-known alternatives. A good resource for on-campus diet management is UT’s Dining Services Web site (http://www.utdining.com), which lists the menu for each of its restaurants each week and the nutritional value of its food offerings. For example, the following is an analysis of the menu options for Tuesday.

The Web site offers no information on available breakfast options, but three eggs, two pieces of toast, a couple of scoops of cottage cheese (with blueberries if you want to kill your fruit requirements early), a banana and a glass of orange juice at your dorm or apartment would have suited you well for your first meal of the day. Total calories: about 650.

For lunch, Sophie’s offers Moroccan garlic chicken with couscous, an entrée that could satisfy a meat and grain requirement. Eat it with a side of green beans gremolada or pinto beans and some fresh cabbage soup for some vegetables. Wash it down with some milk. Grab a red apple as you walk out the door. After lunch, you’ve got about another 900 calories accounted for.

For dinner, head over to Presidential Court Café for an assortment of healthy supper options. The adobo pork would make a healthy dinner choice with some rice and lyonnaise potatoes. Add a bowl of chicken noodle soup and some corn bread (though be wary, it is calorie packed with nearly 350 per serving), and you’ve accounted for another 900 calories total.

Add all of the calories up, and you’ve consumed 2,450 calories in a day. With a few low-fat snacks here and there, one could manage a healthy diet with UT dining. Do your research, though. Many of the options on the menus are not low-calorie or low-fat options, and the healthier options are meager in comparison to the pizza and hamburgers offered at all UT dining locations.

Also, this rough model is only appropriate for an individual wishing to maintain a weight of 146 pounds, not to gain or lose weight. Adjust your own model for what your goals are, and work the recommended minimum of 30 minutes of exercise per day into your routine.

Managing a healthy diet is somewhat difficult, but with some investigating, you can do it with UT’s meal plan. Students can help right the raging obesity “epidemic” by making healthy choices and taking personal responsibility for their diets.

— Oliver Casey is a junior in enterprise management. He can be reached at [email protected].