Good nutritional habits and a balanced diet aren't developed in one day, nor are they destroyed in one unbalanced meal. Healthful eating means a lifestyle of making choices and decisions, planning, and knowing how to make quick and wise choices when you haven't planned.
What you learn about eating in these first years on your own will help establish good dietary patterns for the rest of your life. Making the break from home cooking and becoming responsible for choosing the foods you eat is part of the challenge of becoming a mature and an independent adult.
It is a challenge that should not be taken lightly. The nutritional habits you develop now will be difficult to change in the coming years when your body stops growing and your lifestyle may become more sedentary. Learning to make sensible choices from a confusing array of options is not easy, but the rewards are great. Eating nutritious and healthful food while maintaining your proper body weight will contribute to a better performance in the classroom, in the gym, and on the dance floor. You will feel and look your best.
In contrast, a poor diet can lead to insidious health problems that can interfere with success in academic and social performance and may eventually mean confronting a serious long-term illness, such as heart disease or diabetes. Knowing how much and what to eat is important knowledge.