The reality of gaining weight
Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: News
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Staff writer
"The salad bar, or mac and cheese?" A question on many students minds as they go through the line at their local college cafeteria. Most go for the mac and cheese.
Going to college means for many students a plethora of junk food options, alcohol, and fast food. But how do they manage to balance all of these new options and still stay healthy without someone there to monitor how many vegetables they're eating?
Many students don't.
Weight gain in college, especially among freshmen, has been a problem for years now. A survey by a research methods class at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College showed weight gain happening in students' sophomore and junior year more than freshman year. The survey also showed that half of the students who live on campus have gained weight since at SMWC. Of the commuter students who participated, about a quarter of them reported weight gain. Fifty-six students completed the survey.
Though the sample size isn't big enough to be representative of the SMWC campus student population, the results "indicate that there is a connection between what students are eating from Sodexo and weight gain," said Danielle Schiewer, a member of the research methods class. More research needs to be done to determine if it is the food choices students are making, the foods that are being offered, or what students are doing outside of meals.
For many students, starting college means quitting high school sports and the incredibly active lifestyle they once lead, this alone can lead to some weight gain, but when you add unhealthy food, and in many cases, alcohol to the mix, putting on at least a few pounds is unavoidable. Researchers at Washington University find that in fact 70 percent of incoming college students gain a significant bit of weight between the beginning of their freshmen and sophomore years.
The research methods class review of literature revealed cases of being overweight and/or obese are increasing nationally. Between 1976 and 2004, the prevalence of being overweight among children aged 6 to 11 years tripled from 6 percent to 18 percent and the prevalence of overweight and obesity among adults aged 20 to 74 years increased from 47 percent to 66 percent.
The college years are highly influential in shaping adult behaviors, particularly with regard to diet, physical activity, and other lifestyle habits.
Concern about weight gain is not simply about body image. Health body image is important. So where is the risk when it comes to weight gain? Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, dementia, and hypertension are all things that dramatically increase when a woman's waist size is above 35 inches. Studies also show that when someone packs on the extra pounds, it's harder for their muscles to function, which can make a person sluggish, tired, and easily fatigued.
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