Caloric Concern

Members of Eating Concerns Hotline and Outreach(ECHO), a peer counseling group which deals withstudents' eating concerns, worked with Hung andBerry to help define eating concerns and to helpdefine eating concerns and to ensure that thecards would emphasize the percentage of fat in afood and not simply its fat content.

"I think that the fact people see a percentagefat [content] is important because that's whatpeople look at first," says Kristen VanAmburg '96,an ECHO counselor. "The point is not to scarepeople--I think fat is a necessary thing."

Above all VanAmburg cautions students to usemoderation in interpreting the numbers HDSprovides. "Generally I think the best idea is touse the information, but don't radically changeyour eating habit because of a severe phobia ofthe four grams of fat in the lasagna," she says.

ECHO co-president Christina Kalan '95 agreesthat it all depends on how a student approachesthe numbers.

"I think that the individual program is goodbut that for some one with eating concerns[Nutrition Bites] can fat which should be consumedis based on individual body type. "People don'tsee the food, they see the numbers," Langstonsays.

A disgruntled group of Lowell juniors areinterrupted as they are discussing theirnutritional malaise. "Harvard and nutrition seemto be irreconcilable," says one junior woman whoasked to be identified as anonymous anddiscontent.

Her dinner companions agree that thenutritional information definitely affects womenmore than men. "Women worry about [fat] 100 timesmore than men," says one woman.

A Man with a Plan

Some men take the fat content seriously. KevinB. Martin '96, a Quincy House resident, says hechoses his meals carefully based on the NutritionBites program.

"I take the calories and divide by 10," Martinexplains. "If the fat is greater than that, Idon't eat it."

Martin says he began calculationg fat contentto avoid gaining weight. "I wasn't going to eatanything that got most of its calories from fat,"he explains.

Despite his obsession with figures, Martin sayshe frequently resorts to eating cereal rather thanchoosing among the optional entrees. But thisdecision may have more to do with taste thannutrition, Martin confesses.

"I sometimes think the cereal here is morepopular than the entrees." Martin hypothesizes,because the food isn't very good."

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