Dietary intake, body mass index, exercise, and alcohol: Are college women following the dietary guidelines for Americans?

Study findings suggest that college women practice diet and health behavior s that contradict the 1995 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. To confirm thi s hypothesis, the authors sur veyed the diet, exercise, and health habits o f 60 female students enrolled in three university aerobics courses. They me asured height and weight to calculate body mass index (BMI) and assessed ph ysical activity, using the Self-Reported Physical Activity scale. To estima te food and nutrient intake, they used 3-day food records. Participants rep orted diets that were nutritionally adequate but exceeded national recommen dations for fat, sugar, and sodium, and their reports of exercise habits su ggested that the lifestyles of 66% of the respondents were sedentary. Altho ugh the students' mean BMIs suggested healthy weights, 25% of the women wer e classified as overweight. A majority of the participants were following a t least 1 of the 7 dietary guidelines; however, no participant was adhering to all proposed behaviors.