Going to college brings with it a new freedom, especially for those not living at home. It is an opportunity to cast off the shackles of convention, including the need for regular meals and regular sleep.
I can still remember visiting some friends in their rented accommodation during our first year in college. It was evening meal time, and the student (now an eminent psychiatrist) who had drawn kitchen duty was experimenting with a meal of diced bananas and baked beans, which he carefully supervised on the flat's cooker!
At least the bananas and baked beans were nutritious. I recall another occasion when a cash-strapped fellow student had three jars of "food" in the house - tomato ketchup, pickles and coffee - to do him for three days until the next infusion of funds.
Student health is now a medical sub-specialty. All third-level colleges have a student health service specialising in the particular problems of their patient population.
The National University of Ireland, Galway, has gone a step further and developed a comprehensive health and well-being programme aimed at encouraging health management by its students. Devised by Cathy Hynes, who is programme manager at the college's sports centre, and assisted by Peadar De Burca and Paul Gillen, the Wellness programme, which started last year, is the only one in the state.
Students are given free access to the gym, a wide range of fitness classes and are provided with a series of health lectures. They are given an information pack at the start of the course. In return, students give a 12-week commitment to review their lifestyle.
The course also deals with time management, how to cope with stress, dietary advice and, at the end, all participants go away for an activity weekend at the Delphi Adventure Centre in Co Mayo.
Karina Fitzgibbon, a fifth-year medical student who is participating in the programme for the second time, says: "From my point of view, the classes are a stress reliever. Last year, I was doing these horrible psychology exams, was really stressed and tense, but having the classes to go to in the evenings kind of got me back on track".
Karina found the Pilates course - an exercise programme aimed at promoting spinal mobility - very good at relieving tension. She would like to see more lunch time classes, as people can be tired and keen to get home in the evenings.
"What makes this year better than last is the monitoring and the emails which are good for us `meds' as we are over in the hospital and sometimes miss out on notice boards", she added.
A review of the Wellness 2000 programme found that 98 per cent of those who participated felt better about themselves. They cited clearer thinking over problems and having more energy as particular benefits. The use of e-mails by the course tutors to stay in touch with participants was rated as a key factor in the programme's success.
Dr Fionnuala Lysaght, the medical director of the student health service at NUI, Galway, is delighted to see the success of Wellness. Students come to her service complaining of increasing levels of stress and she has also noticed an increase in the number of students with clinical depression.
She believes there is a link between this trend and the rising college drop-out rates. "The Wellness programme will help students address psychological issues early on," she says. So what are the other health problems of a student population? Dr Lysaght sees a link between alcohol and drug abuse and an upsurge in the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases on campus. Alcohol plays a factor in nearly all students with unplanned pregnancies who attend the medical service.
There is a growing population of mature students among the 11,500 at the college. They have a different set of health needs, with diabetes, heart disease and requests for hormone replacement therapy dominating the consultations. But this group can be isolated, too, according to Dr Lysaght. Many have left jobs and are still trying to support a family while separated from partners and children during the week.
The student health service at NUI, Galway, is a busy one, with more than 120 patient contacts a day. Nurses and counsellors are a key part of the team, but Dr Lysaght would like to see more doctor contacts offered. Unlike some other student health services, a full out-of-hours, on-call service is provided.
The importance of getting people to become health-conscious early in their lives cannot be overstated. With health promotion and disease prevention so much part of our national health agenda, NUI, Galway, is leading the way.
Dr Muiris Houston, Medical Correspondent, can be contacted at mhouston@irish-times.ie or leave messages on tel 01-6707711, ext 8511, but he regrets he cannot reply to individual medical problems.