Campus weighs in on impact of food

For many centuries, food dominated a portion of society. Including both delicacies and healthy foods, time passed, and home cooked meals were replaced by fast food. To this day, according to a study in The New York Times, American teenagers receive 16.9% of their calories from fast food.

As many people claim, it takes focus to maintain a healthy lifestyle, especially considering how much of society rests on fast food. Convenience controls culture; people want to accomplish things quickly. Limited time leads to a lack of patience, and a lack of patience, though a common human trait, leads to an overall unhealthy mind and body.

Freshman Noah Weimer enjoys woodworking and volleyball occasionally. While his favorite foods include Mexican food, Italian food and plain cheese, he also refrains from ingesting harmful foods. He shares his view on following a healthy diet.

“If you put trash into your body, you’re going to feel like trash,” Weimer said. “If you put healthy foods into your body, it’s giving you that amount of energy you need. It’ll make you feel good, it’s good for you, and it’s good for your body. I think if you eat healthy foods more, you’re gonna live longer, because it’s giving your body what it needs as you grow up.”

Campus vice principal Bible teacher, Scott Falk rides his bicycle in pursuit of a healthy lifestyle and progresses toward a healthier diet.

“It’s something I’ve worked on quite a bit in the last couple years,” Falk said. “The thing is, you have to have a sense of what you want to look like. That’s gonna determine the kind of food you eat and how much you eat. For me, it’s looking in the mirror, or seeing a picture of myself, and not liking what I see — and that’s attached to what goes into my mouth.”

Bekah Micu, ‘20, plays on girls varsity volleyball team, and participates in other sports, such as soccer or track and field. She shares the benefits of eating healthy.

“It’s a lot healthier for you,” Micu said. “It makes you feel better than eating junk food. Junk foods shouldn’t be eaten often, maybe every once in a while. I generally try to avoid them.”

Aside from overseeing the school, principal Amy Deffenbacher enjoys baking in her own kitchen. Although she suffers from an illness called celiacs disease, she pursues a healthy lifestyle.

“Eating healthy is very important to me because I have celiacs disease,” principal Deffenbacher said. “So, I definitely have foods I regret eating in High School. Not only that, but the Bible talks about how our bodies are temples for the Holy Spirit. So one of my main motivations for eating healthy is that it’s honoring to the Lord.”

Managing the physical education program on and off since 2004, coach Michael Fuller grew up in a household that emphasized maintenance of healthy eating and living. He gives his perspective from an P.E. coach’s standpoint.

“Our bodies are composed of material that we consume,” Fuller said. “And they function only as well as the quality of fuel and building materials that we take in when we eat. Although nutrition science is rethinking many of the earlier dogmas, and there are numerous dietary fads being promulgated on the internet and in popular magazines, there seems to still be an overall negative trend toward eating habits that foster unhealthy weight gain.”

Fuller began his food-intake awareness at a young age. He avoids some popular foods and drinks, such as Hostess products, soda or energy drinks. He explains why he rejects such things.

“Soda and energy drinks have such high percentages of sugar that a single serving may supply more carbohydrate than the body needs for a day,” Fuller said. “Even in the sugar free varieties, the sweetness of those drinks and the chemical stimulants they contain tends to trigger overconsumption. At this point in my life, I’m more concerned about being sensible and moderate for my own diet. So if you are worried that something is unhealthy, then don’t eat it.”

For more information on healthy eating, see Functional Human blog, No. 1, and Functional Human blog, No. 2 – Exercise.

David Tuck can be reached via email.