In college, it is hard to get a good meal in between classes and work. I live 30 minutes from campus, so my day is shorter by about an hour because of just driving. A part of the social norm of college is to eat unhealthy food because it is cheaper and more accessible than healthy food. Since freshman year I have found myself gaining weight because of how I feel like I am forced to eat. The quickest food options for me these days include pizza from Berks Creamery, fast food from places like McDonald’s and Chick-fil-A. Food prices are so high these days that buying food to bring to campus is just as expensive as eating quickly on campus. Furthermore, I see other people my age doing the same thing all the time. My friends get pizza on campus more than once a week because of how fast and cheap it can be. I would eat sandwiches or salads occasionally, but they tend to be more than double the cost of two slices of pizza. The social norm aspect comes from the pressure to save money by spending it on unhealthy food instead of healthy food because that is what college students do.

In the United States there is a problem with the health and weight of the population. Food prices are expensive for nutritious foods like fruits and vegetables. Prices are low for food like processed hamburgers and chicken. These cheaper food options are meant to help people who are poor afford to eat food, but instead it offers a cheap option of unhealthy food that tastes good. This problem directly affects my situation with the college student social norm of eating unhealthy food that is easily accessible. Salads and healthier food options like sandwiches with vegetables are far more expensive because of the ingredients. Beef and Chicken are cheap on the market because of the mass production from factory farms. This overabundance of meat has helped lead to a cheaper cost, and this has led to obesity in the United States. Another aspect to this is the growth hormones added to genetically modified livestock. This creates fatter meats as well which adds to the obesity problem as well. There is a slight difference between my social norm situation and the societal issue of obesity though because on average college populations, such as Penn State’s, are slimmer and more active. While many college students do eat unhealthy food because of how inexpensive it is, they also exercise more and do more physical activities. This shows in this case that there are differences between social norms and the current societal issues.