By Kira Farnsworth
Married students are reputed to have healthier diets than single students because of time, effort, consideration and money saving motivations.
Many single students tend to eat on the run and grab what they can when they can, said Lora Beth Brown, associate professor of the BYU Food Science and Nutrition Department.
'Many college students are not doing a wonderful job of eating well, but they''re not dying of malnutrition either,' she said. 'They''re not too worried about what they''re eating as long as they''re still surviving and getting by.'
Married students often eat better because they are more motivated to do so, Brown said.
'Many people find it easier and more motivating to cook for two rather than one,' Brown said. 'Some people don''t want to take the time to cook for ''me'', but feel more willing to cook for two. They can also save money by cooking at home, and that provides a motivation for young married people as well.'
Brown also said married students are willing to spend the time cooking and eating together because they love one another and want each other to be healthy.
'There is some data to suggest that when students marry they do better, and there are several reasons why this is plausible,' Brown said. 'One reason is that their lives tend to be more organized and there are some actual meal times. The reason that there are meal times is because you have someone to have meal time with and someone at meal time to care about.'
Brown said the structure of married students'' daily lives change so they can have contact points with their spouses.
'It gives them a reason to be together and a motivation for cooking rather than just grabbing something and running out the door,' she said.
Some married students agree that their diets have improved since their nuptials.
Bethany Simonsen, a sophomore majoring in humanities, attributes the improvements in her diet to more refrigerator space.
'Now we have a lot more room in the fridge because there''s just two of us instead of six; so we have more room to have more food, and now there''s a bigger variety of things to choose from at home.'
Simonsen also said she thinks she eats better now because she eats fewer meals on campus.
'I used to eat in the cafeteria two or three times a week, but now I only eat there maybe once a month,' she said.
Simonsen''s husband, Mike, said he feels like he eats more nutritiously now that he''s married.
'Before I got married, I ate pretty much the same as I eat now, except that now I eat more fruits and vegetables,' he said. 'My diet is more balanced and ''non-boxed'' now, and I am more aware of it.'
Brown said some studies show that married students increase in their dietary variety and improve their intakes of several food groups, including fruits, vegetables and milk.
Laura Coons, a student from Spokane, Wash., majoring in food science and nutrition, said she and her husband Chris also try to eat better now that they''re married.
'We eat more vegetables and more regularly than when we were single, and I also eat breakfast now because Chris does,' she said.