Students do care about their physical health and diet, but some are not taking advantage of the healthier options provided by TCU Dining Services, said the general manager.”The weight-loss and healthy diet trend is not just happening here at TCU,” said Rick Flores, general manager for TCU Dining Services. “Sodexho, the company in charge of Dining Services, is nationally and globally giving out information about what is healthy and what is not.”

A healthier option in The Main is the combo meal from Grill 155, which can now be purchased with a bottled water or milk and a fruit cup, Flores said. He said the combo meal usually comes with french fries and a soda.

Katie Brooks, a sophomore early education major, said she would eat on campus more often if there were healthier items on the menu.

“It’s hard to find something that’s good for you with all of the fried foods that are offered,” Brooks said. “I would eat at Edens, but the lettuce is not always fresh.”

Still, this is a college campus and the items most sold include chicken tenders, chicken fried steak and quesadillas, said Legia Abato, marketing manager for Dining Services.

“As a consumer, it is the student’s choice whether or not they will make a positive decision about what they choose to eat,” Abato said.

Drew McCabe, a junior accounting major, said he has not eaten in The Main since his freshman year.

Ashley Norton, a junior fashion merchandising major, said she occasionally eats on campus.

“I don’t think the food is prepared as freshly as possible,” Norton said. “I do eat salads, which I guess is healthy.”

Another way Dining Services is trying to improve campuswide health is through the Balance Mind, Body and Soul Program, Abato said.

According to Sodexho’s Balance, Mind, Body and Soul Web site, balancing ones diet is only one aspect of living a balanced life.

The Web site uses a nutrition calculator to display which menu items are vegetarian, vegan and carb-friendly, and shows the nutritional information for most items on the menu, Abato said.

“This is helpful for students who want to look at the week’s upcoming menu and plan healthy meals, or for students with certain dietary restrictions who need to plan their meals accordingly,” Abato said.

Stephanie Dickerson, the Dining Services nutrition counselor, said she checks the recipes to make sure they fit into the balance program and gives presentations to residence halls about having a healthy lifestyle in college.

Nutrition is definitely a priority when Dining Services plans the meals for students, Dickerson said.

“We want to provide healthy meal options, but also have to go with the local favorites like chicken fried steak,” Dickerson said. “We don’t want to eliminate the fast-food-like choices; we want to educate the students about more healthy options.”

The possibility of a 15-pound weight gain the freshman year of college is something students know about and try to work on, Dickerson said.

To dodge the freshman 15, Dickerson suggests having a vegetable or fruit on your plate, exercising regularly and making better choices when ordering a meal.

“When you’ve been under your parents’ rules living at home, coming to college and being able to choose what you eat on your own is like sending a kid into a candy store,” Dickerson said.

Lindsay Rodgers, a nutrition coordinator for the Texas Department of State Health Services, said weight gain can occur throughout a student’s college career.

“Rather than the freshman 15, it’s more like the freshman 5 to 7 and the sophomore 2 to 3,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers said preventing weight gain in the first place is the best option.

“A couple of explanations about why students gain weight in college have to do with drinking, more socialization with eating, high-fat foods in dorm rooms and less physical activity than in high school,” Rodgers said. “Most students are not playing as many sports as they did in high school, which leads to a severe drop in physical activity.”

Eric Heins, cross country coach for TCU, said there isn’t a lot of emphasis put on his players’ diets.

“Because we are runners, we don’t really have to watch what we eat as much as other people might,” Heins said. “It’s more about caloric intake versus what we eat.