However, a cup of fruit that is far from fresh is almost 1.50 dining dollars. The fruit is off to the side with the drinks that students rarely buy. The French fries are warm and freshly cooked, sitting next to the main food the dining hall offers. The students can satisfy their hunger with fatty, nutrient-lacking French fries relatively quickly, but in order to go through the line at the buffet to obtain more fruit and vegetable options, they must take an hour out of their time and wait in line, as well as spend almost two dining dollars more for dinner. If these factors were able to be changed, students might be more inclined to choose fruit over French fries. The price of fruit and French fries cannot be changed without a large amount of effort and time, and students cannot take more time to eat without their studies, homework, and extracurricular activities suffering. However, these obstructions to better nutrition are something that delve deep into societal and cultural problems.
Furthermore, there is no immediate negative consequence with a student eating French fries, other than their fear of becoming an unattractive or overweight person. Our fear of becoming an overweight or unattractive person is rooted in our minds as young women, which may lead to dissatisfaction with our lives and our eating habits. Often women engage in discussion that is saturated in comments about our looks, especially our body weight, and this causes much focus to be put on how many calories are consumed, rather than the nutrients needed. In a study done by Rachel H. Salk and Renee Elgeln-Maddox published by Psychology of Women Quarterly, researchers found that over 93% of women in a college atmosphere engage in "fat talk,"which is defined as women negatively commenting on their own weight and body image to friends ("If You're Fat Then I'm Humongous!"). The researchers found that this type of talk, although common, was detrimental to body satisfaction and leads to an increase in thin-ideal internalization (Salk and Engeln-Maddox).