College students eat more fruits and vegetables and exercise more on days when they talk to their parents, according to a recent Pennsylvania State University study.
Parents form and share healthy habits with their children before they enter college, said Sarah Schmidt, a dietetic intern at UF’s Student Health Care Center.
“Parents have a role in coaching their children and are still support for them,” Schmidt said.
College students were 14 percent more likely to eat fruits and vegetables on days when they talked with their parents. Also, students were 50 percent more likely to exercise for at least 30 minutes, according to the study.
Soo Ha, a 19-year-old applied physiology and kinesiology junior, said she doesn’t eat much because of her busy schedule. Sometimes, she’s so busy that she forgets to eat. But when her mom texts her throughout the day, it reminds her, she said.
Ha said college students live inconvenient lifestyles.
“In college, putting time for the gym is the first thing to cut out — especially when you’re busy,” she said.
Researchers didn’t document the conversation content between students and their parents, so the study doesn’t explain why the conversations had positive effects on students’ habits.
Kemia Harris, a 20-year-old telecommunication senior, said she disagrees with the study’s results.
“I talked to [my mom] this morning, and I’m eating Chick-fil-A,” she said. “Unless she cooks healthy, I don’t eat healthy. When my parents stress me out, I tend to eat unhealthy.”
