Many college students don’t gain the dreaded freshman 15 their first year away from home, but they do pack on 6 to 9 pounds, two studies show. Why? Key reasons include dramatic increases in beer drinking and significant decreases in physical activity.
The latest studies were conducted at Indiana University in Bloomington and Tufts University in Boston.
Indiana researchers surveyed 272 female students and 149 men on the campus about their weight and living habits. The findings, presented at the meeting of the Obesity Society this month in Phoenix:
- 60% of students said they gained weight from the beginning of their freshman year to the beginning of their sophomore year. The women said they put on 7½ pounds; men, almost 9.
- 67% of the women gained weight from the beginning of their freshman year to the beginning of the senior year, putting on an average of 10 pounds; 86% of men gained an average of 14 pounds during that time.
- 76% of female students and 33% of males say they eat when under stress.
Source: USA Today
