The City of Boulder Chautauqua Park is one of the many places where Boulder citizens stay active. (Michael W Murphy/Flickr)
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Here in Boulder, we often view the southern region of America as a different country entirely, and with good reason. Not only do both places contrast in political values, culture and landscape, but also in food and eating habits. Now, this may not come as a surprise. After all, the most infamous caloric dishes come from southern cooking. But I can personally attest it is worse than you think.
My first semester of college, I attended the University of Missouri. Notice that I only lasted one semester. You’d think after my liberal upbringing in New York City and graduating from a Denver public high school, I wouldn’t be caught dead below the Mason-Dixon line. Now, I get why.
Although Missouri is geographically considered Midwestern, it is southern in every other way. It is not the best of both worlds. Looking back, I should have put two and two together sooner. The first time I realized I was really in the south was during my first meal at the dining hall.
I was greeted by the smell of bacon grease and potato-cheese casserole. Breakfasts consisted of biscuits and gravy, pancakes and pastries. If you’re lucky, there would be a basket of fruit to pick from. For lunch and dinner, we had an endless supply of carbs in their own “comfort food” section. And don’t forget dessert: choose from the ice cream sundae bar or the presentation of pies bought specially from the Wal-Mart down the street! Eating off campus was marginally better, although I was deprived of a Whole Foods Market for miles.
I left Mizzou with an extra 10 pounds and a phobia of dining halls. I was so grateful to be in a place where health was a priority. My spring semester at CU Boulder was like waking up from a bad dream. Walking into the C4C, I was welcomed with a wonderland of organic yogurt, Boulder Granola and an environment that celebrated diverse cuisine. From the sushi station to the Persian station to the three Whole Foods Markets located in a five-mile radius, my healthy eating options were endless.
Food wasn’t the only thing differentiating a Colorado lifestyle from one in the South. The habit of exercising was almost non-existent at Mizzou. In Boulder, exercising is not only a privilege but also an enjoyable pastime. People are always striving to be active, whether it’s taking a hike up Chautauqua or working out at our sustainable gym.
These differences between Colorado and Missouri are not only seen in my experience but also through national surveys. According to America’s Health Rankings in 2015, Colorado ranked the lowest in obesity and physical inactivity rates and second lowest in diabetes, heart attacks and high blood pressure rates. In comparison, Missouri ranked between 28th and 41st in all the above categories.
While Colorado looks like “the fittest of them all,” we know too well that not everything is what it looks like in the mirror. After Gallup-Healthways’ Well-Being Index, that granted Boulder the fifth best in “overall-well being,” the American College Health Association conducted their own study. The ACHA’s study about mental health disorders among college students found that the University of Colorado Boulder had triple the national average of eating disorders among women. The number of men reported with eating disorders was almost double the national average.
While the Missourian lifestyle is certainly not a good example for healthy living, it’s possible that the Boulder, Colorado, lifestyle isn’t either. We are surrounded by an abundance of beautiful scenery and people, so the health craze in Boulder is almost as unavoidable as wearing Birkenstocks. But at what point does a healthy lifestyle become an unhealthy obsession? Is it possible that there is too much pressure within the community to be fit and healthy, that it’s leading people to succumb to unhealthy disorders? In Missouri, consequences occurred due to a lack of concern for health, but in Boulder the emphasis on health is what’s causing problems. Maybe we aren’t so different at the core of our sicknesses and we have much more in common with the South than we thought.
Contact CU Independent Opinion Staff Writer Clare Curwen at clare.curwen@colorado.edu.
