Say no to fat: Health officials encourage better diet habits

While your chicken parm hoagie, mozzarella sticks or two scoop ice cream sundae may be tempting, Princeton health officials would rather you gave it some more thought.

As part of Lighten Up Princeton, sponsored by the Princeton Regional Health Commission, local restaurants will advertise their healthier dining options and residents can learn how to live healthier and lose weight.

If the program is successful, by the end of three months Borough and Township residents will have lost a collective 30,000 pounds — or 15 tons — of weight, said Bill Hinshillwood, health board officer.

That's about the weight of the 75 full grown tigers.

"If everybody in Princeton lost a pound it would be 30,000," he said. That idea came from other cities' programs, he said, adding that Philadelphia encouraged its citizens to lose 76 tons of weight in 2001.

The program, which is cosponsored by Princeton Medical Center, is primarily educational, Hinshillwood said.

The program's website allows users to measure their body mass index, track their fitness and diet progress and access links to fitness resources in the community.

Obesity is not a problem particular to Princeton, Hinshillwood said.

"It's a national issue, wherever you are," he said.

The health commission is talking with local eateries to encourage them to offer more healthy dining options in the future, he said. "They'll have low fat or lower calorie menu choices," he said, adding that they are searching for ways to provide extra publicity for participating merchants.

However, some restaurants, such as Nassau Street restaurant Pizza Coloré, would only be able to offer a limited menu of low-calorie items, said Alnada Notonica, store manager.

"If people want to eat healthy, they wouldn't go to a pizzeria," she said.

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On campus, students have healthy eating options available at the dining halls, said Stu Orefice, director of dining services. The department's dietitian oversees the menus, he said.

While students have requested that lower-fat entrees be served alongside greasier fare, people like bad food.

"Some of our customers speak healthy but eat fat," Orefice said.

For example, students eat five times as much fried chicken as they do baked chicken when both are offered at dinner, he said.

But some students find the dining hall options unsatisfactory.

"The only healthy option in the dining hall is the salad bar, because the other vegetables are just frozen bag vegetables," Eliot Davidoff '05 said.

Finding healthy food late at night is impossible, he added. Delivered pizzas, hoagies and food from the WaWa are not healthy, he said.

While obesity is not a major problem on campus, many students need to find a more balanced lifestyle, Daniel Silverman, director of health services, wrote in an email.

Noting the number of student athletes and the crowded scene at the fitness center, "lack of exercise doesn't appear to be a huge problem," Silverman said.

However, "don't view exercise, adequate sleep and good diet [as] a luxury or indulgence," he said. "In fact, allowing yourself to exercise, eat and sleep well can enhance academic performance."

Anyone looking to learn about healthy living is encouraged to attend the Lighten Up events at PMC, said Lauren Denney, the hospital's director of education.

Events will continue monthly at PMC through December. Next month a specialist will talk about choices for living longer. All events are free and open to the public, Denney said.