Students in Athens: Drinking and dieting don’t go together

No doubt there’s a movement afoot to get healthy in college. Spanning the breach between adolescence and adulthood, this is the time students learn to make important choices on their own. Actions determining nutrition consumption, exercise patterns and all-around healthy habits will help set the path for a successful future.

Ohio University, in particular, accommodates these decisions with a state-of-the-art fitness center, surrounding active community, and locally grown organic food efforts. However, the 20-plus bars near campus and the No. 2 party school status embraced by students, may counteract these healthful assets.

And it is not just OU. There’s certainly no denying that the nature of any college environment is conducive to alcohol consumption.

In fact, college students are more likely to participate in heavy episodic (or binge) drinking than their non-college peers, according to a study cited in “What Colleges Need To Know Now: An Update on College Drinking Research” published by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

What is such an innate part of college life can also quickly overtake one’s schedule as a steadfast extracurricular activity. Such pressure to participate may also dissuade a student from his or her health plan.

It has been repeated over and over that alcohol is bad for you. But if threat of liver failure is not enough to deter one from slowing down, then perhaps the probability of weight gain is.

“I don’t think [students are thinking about their calorie intake [when they drink],” said junior Rebecca Koch, an OU journalism major and fitness instructor at Ping Center. “Some may be but I think that everyone counts drinking as an ‘exception’ to their daily intake… Therefore it doesn’t count.”

A few things to consider when ordering your next drink:

According to an article on webmd.com, calories from alcohol are more likely to turn into fat because it is more difficult for the body to use alcohol calories for energy.

An article from elle.com also said that alcohol consumption temporarily inhibits “lipid oxidation,” causing the body greater difficulty burning fat that has already been stored. The article also said that food consumption is about 20 percent more when alcohol has been consumed prior to eating.

The alluring lights of the late-night fast-food joints taunting students after the 2 a.m. last bar call certainly can tempt the tipsy dieter to forgo his or her plan (all of us have felt the regret stirring in our stomachs the next morning, attributed not to consuming Red Bull vodkas but to eating too many slices of Goodfella’s Pizza).

Scotty Russell, a senior accounting major at OU and bartender at The Crystal, said he has noticed an indirect correlation between alcohol consumption and weight gain among students. “Alcohol becomes your body’s first priority to process, and after a heavy night of drinking, students throw all the rules out the window when they have an alcohol-induced appetite,” Russell said.

It may seem a hopeless attempt to maintain a healthy lifestyle in college, but consider this: a study published in 2005 in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that men and women who allow themselves one drink per day, three to seven days a week, had the lowest body mass index.

The casual drinker. Now that’s a concept you do not learn about at college.

While campus culture might not exactly condone this term per se, the market still exists for smart choices. “You just have to be conscious about what you’re drinking and eating,” said Koch. “It seems like a task at first but once you get used to it, being healthy is second nature.”

Sometimes it’s just a few “casual” changes one can make to his or her routine that can result in the same amount of fun. The most impactful thing a weekend drinker can do (those who go out five nights a week may be beyond help) to alleviate the morning-after guilt is to switch up their standard order. Typically the most daunting decision stems from the beer versus liquor dynamic. Which one will it be? The choice shouldn’t weigh “heavily” on you, so here is your non-conventional beverage guide:

Beer

Kegs, cases, bottles, cans — this beverage comes in convenient forms, making it a college classic. There is always room for beer at a party and it always seems to be the most popular pick.

But beer is notorious for its carbohydrate count, which is why many students who are watching their weight shy away from filling up their red Solo cup. With such a widespread cultural presence and with so many different kinds — cheap to expensive, domestic to imported, light to dark — surely there must be a way to drink beer more responsibly.

For example, Natural Light, one of the most prevalent brews stocked in student fridges, contains 95 calories with 3.2 grams of carbs per can. Other popular choices offer similar makeup per 12-ounce can: Miller Lite has 96 calories and 3.2 grams of carbs, Bud Light has 110 calories and 6.5 grams of carbs, and Keystone Light has 104 calories and 5.0 grams of carbs.

Compared with darker beers like Guinness Draught, which offers a whopping 126 calories and 10 grams of carbs per 12-ounce serving, these brands are all around better, cost-wise and nutritionally.

“When it comes down to it in college, price is the most important factor,” said Koch. “We don’t want to buy an expensive light beer and share it with our friends if there is a case of Natty that we can buy for five dollars cheaper.”

For those really weighing out their options, Miller Genuine Draft has created “MGD 64,” which contains only 64 calories and 2.4 grams of carbs per 12 ounce serving.

Liquor

Like everything else with liquor, things gets a little fuzzy in this area. One way to make an informed decision, however, is to know which mixed drinks are more likely to pack on the pounds.

According to webmd.com, one ounce of 80-proof vodka (40 percent alcohol) contains 64 calories. Remembering a typical shot glass is 1.5 ounces, as with anything alcohol-related, that quickly begins to add up.

What about some of the go-to cocktails at the bar?

“The daiquiris are very popular and the high concentrated mix might make it our highest calorie drink,” said Russell.

According to the USDA’s health.gov website, a typical 6.3-ounce frozen margarita has 327 calories, a 3-ounce whiskey sour has 125 calories, and a 2.7-ounce daiquiri has 137 calories. While those numbers appear low, consider that a typical beer is 12 ounces and the calories quickly begin to multiply.

Even if these drinks aren’t your flavor, a 12-ounce rum and Coke brings you to 361 calories.

The former concoctions, which all contain sugary mixers, are on the extreme end of the drink menu, however. Webmd.com advises drinkers to stick with light mixers, such as diet soda or tonic (0 calories), orange juice (84 calories per 6 ounces) or cranberry juice cocktail (136 calories per 8 ounces).

Another trick is to try infused vodkas, diluting mixtures with water or club soda, or ordering a vodka water.

“Almost every girl that orders a vodka water comments about its low calories or that they are dieting,” said Russell.

So in the end, which will you order?

“I would say just to be conscious of what you are drinking and don’t worry about adding up calories because that just gets stressful,” said Koch.

Despite the age-old adage “liquor before beer,” you actually can drink both just as long as you’re smart about it. Stick with light beers and drinks mixed with juice or water and you can still have a fun and guilt-free night — well, when drinking at the bar at least. Anything that happens beyond 2 a.m. is left up to the discretion of the evening.