Physical Activity Engineering

by Julie Walton, Ph.D.

One good fallout from the recent spike in gas prices was the multitude of people moved to physically move.  Here in our Midwest city, more people availed themselves of heretofore sparsely-populated city transits, and our students began arriving on campus in small squadrons of bikes.  It was a surprising oxymoron that right here at our HPERDS department we quickly ran out of available bike racks, with students locking bicycles to any upright, immovable tree, fence, or light pole they could find.

Another fallout was that various area school systems, bludgeoned by the rising costs of bus transportation, contracted busing out to bus companies.  Where was the conversation about finding safer ways for children to walk to school?  So, our children still ride to and from school.  Even in East Grand Rapids, which prides itself for nearly no busing, moms line up in their cars for 2 city blocks either side of the elementary and middle schools to drop off and pick up their children.  Of course, it’s no longer a necessity at their high school since most every student from sophomores on up drive their own cars.

It has gotten me to thinking…

The Dilemma of Disordered Eaters in an Introductory Nutrition Course

by Julie Walton, Ph.D.

I teach Nutrition in a large Christian liberal arts college.  Each day in class, I look out over 60 young faces, and pray that the day’s focus on eating and food will not batter and badger the 4-8 students who are in the midst of, or freshly recovering from an eating disorder.  How do we teach with sensitivity to these students?  How do we continue, day in and day out our intentional and intense attention on food and nutrition and health in ways that do no harm?

The course begins with an assignment to record and analyze a 3-day diet diary.  It is not uncommon for these diaries to come back with average daily caloric intakes of 1100 calories, dangerously low folic acid and calcium levels, fat intakes that students wrongly think virtuous and high intakes of water, ice, Crystal Light, diet sodas, and other non-caloric items.  Sadly, I am no longer astounded by such eating patterns.  What does stun me is the palpable fear of food in these otherwise wonderful Christian students.