Nutritionist visits elicit high demand

Ilyse Kramer Staff Writer

Nutritionist Amy Kennedy has proven popular among students. Often, there is a waiting list of more than 1,200 students who want an appointment the nutritionist. Despite this high demand of students seeking nutritional information, Kennedy only comes to Vassar four times a semester and sees ten students per visit.

“We could use more hours on campus. They certainly would not go to waste,” said Director of Health Education Michelle Soucy.

According to Soucy, students see the nutritionist for a variety of reasons. “Some students want to lose weight, some want to gain, but mostly we see students who want to know how they can eat healthy based on the menus at ACDC,” said Soucy. “Vegans and vegetarians also come in to learn how to properly balance their diets. Athletes see her to learn how to properly eat for their performance, too.”

“I think many of our students are health- conscious and want to know how to get the most out of what is offered on campus,” said Soucy.

She noted that the large amount of information available can be daunting. “Nutrition information is hard to understand, there are so many variations of how and what someone should eat. The diet industry adds to this confusion, and many students want to know the truth,” said Soucy.

Ellie Leonard ’06 found her visit with Kennedy helpful. “Although I was already eating pretty healthy, it was still nice to get a medical opinion from someone trained and not from information found on a cereal box,” said Leonard. “The nutritionist is a nice service that the school provides.”

Both Leonard and Nathalie Galvez ’08 felt that their visits with Kennedy, while helpful, only reinforced what they already knew about nutrition. Galvez and Leonard were advised to drink plenty of water, exercise on a regular basis, and drink sugary fruit juices in moderation.

“I would have liked it better if the nutritionist gave me specific meal plans instead of charts that told me what I already knew,” said Galvez. “I feel that there is no point to visiting the nutritionist unless you have a specific complaint about nutrition.”

Soucy said that there are financial considerations with bringing a nutritionist to campus. “Students have given us positive feedback about the experience, so we hope it is a service the College will continue to fund,” said Soucy. “The service is particularly helpful students with an eating disorder.”

The Office of Health Education does not cnduct clinical evaluations, but Soucy said that they can be used as a resource for students interested in finding basic nutritional information.