It was about an hour into the meeting, and it had been at least two hours since breakfast. A vision of the freezer sitting outside the meeting room, chock full of ice cream, popped into my head. It was time for an ice cream break.

I snuck out of the room quietly and walked back in, eating my delicious Reese’s ice cream treat. The people in the back of the room turned and looked at me and began laughing. I don’t know why, it was 10 a.m.; it seemed like a logical time to eat ice cream. I told them I was just getting my “Three a Day” in.

I am on the way to nutritional supremacy, and it’s apparent college students need to follow my lead. In a study done by the University of Illinois, only one in four young people were getting the recommended amount of dairy.

That alarming finding means three-fourths of the 18- to 25-year-old college applicants surveyed are at risk for metabolic syndrome. And just exactly what is metabolic syndrome? I’m glad you asked.

According to Margarita Teran-Garcia, a U of I professor of food science and human nutrition, metabolic syndrome occurs when a person has three of the following risk factors: abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and unhealthy cholesterol and lipid levels. Having this disorder greatly increases a person’s chances of developing heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.

While scientists believe dairy products help tame the obesity tiger and the unhealthiness that comes with being overweight, they really aren’t sure how it happens. Teran-Garcia said, “It may be the calcium, it may be the proteins. Whatever the mechanism, evidence suggests that dairy products are effective in attaining and maintaining a healthy weight.”

With all those scary diseases creating obstacles on their road to a healthy lifestyle, why in heaven’s name would college co-eds take the chance of compromising their health? Moreover, why would any normal college student with an ounce of common sense not take this to mean they have to eat ice cream three times a day? The research proves it.

The scientists who conducted this research suspected students were substituting high-calorie sugar-sweetened beverages – for example, soda and juice drinks – for milk, but they found that wasn’t the case. Instead, a quarter of the group drank these sorts of beverages in addition to dairy products, contributing surplus calories, she said.

So let’s look at the scenario in a little different light. On one table you’ve got sodas, juice and sports drinks, and on the other you’ve got creamy chocolate milk, ice cream and every flavor of Greek yogurt you can think of. Which buffet would you return to? Especially if you were told you could eat the dairy and lose weight?

This is a total no-brainer! Keep your Cokes – I’ll choose the ice cream, yogurt and a smaller waist.

The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Those with comments for Melissa Hart may write in care of this publication.