Abstract
BackgroundThe freshmen year of college is likely a critical period for risk of weight gain among young-adults.MethodsA longitudinal observational study was conducted to examine changes in weight, dietary intake, and other health-related behaviors among first-year college students (n = 186) attending a public University in the western United States. Weight was measured at the beginning and end of fall semester (August – December 2005). Participants completed surveys about dietary intake, physical activity and other health-related behaviors during the last six months of high school (January – June 2005) in August 2005 and during their first semester of college (August – December 2005) in December 2005.Results159 students (n = 102 women, 57 men) completed both assessments. The average BMI at the baseline assessment was 23.0 (standard deviation (SD) 3.8). Although the average amount of weight gained during the 15-week study was modest (1.5 kg), 23% of participants gained ≥ 5% of their baseline body weight. Average weight gain among those who gained ≥ 5% of baseline body weight was 4.5 kg. Those who gained ≥ 5% of body weight reported less physical activity during college than high school, were more likely to eat breakfast, and slept more than were those who did not gain ≥ 5% of body weight.ConclusionAlmost one quarter of students gained a significant amount of weight during their first semester of college. This research provides further support for the implementation of education or other strategies aimed at helping young-adults entering college to achieve or maintain a healthy body weight.
Highlights
The freshmen year of college is likely a critical period for risk of weight gain among young-adults
Of the 2,054 first-time freshmen enrolled at the University in 2005, 1,388 participated in the freshmen orientation course, 200 of which were recruited to participate in the "Freshmen Health Study"
There were few statistically significant differences in characteristics related to diet, physical activity or other health-related behaviors between baseline body mass index (BMI) groups
Summary
The freshmen year of college is likely a critical period for risk of weight gain among young-adults. Current obesity rates among all age groups are two-to-three times higher than they were just 20 years ago [1]. The phenomenon of gaining weight during a person's first year of college is familiar to most college students. Several research groups have examined this phenomenon and most, [4] but not all, [5] reported weight changes among students during their first year of college. Average weight gain during the first semester of college for first-time freshmen was 1.3 – 3.1 kg [6,7,8,9,10]
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