Self-Reported Changes in Weight, Food Intake, and Physical Activity from High School to College

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine body weight, dietary intake, and physical activity among first-year students during the transition from high school to college. First-year students (n=28) at a public university in central Arkansas completed an online survey that assessed demographic, height, weight, diet, and physical activity information. The survey was administered during the spring semester of the 2009 academic year, with participants instructed to report current (i.e. collegiate) and retrospective (i.e. final year of high school) information. Current weight was greater than recalled high school weight (+2.7 kg, p=0.008). Dietary intake as assessed by reported frequency of consumption of selected food items was significantly decreased in college relative to high school for three foods: milk (– 0.17 times/day, p=0.013), cheese (–0.27, p=0.012), and red meat (–0.18, p=0.006). Time spent participating in vigorous-intensity physical activity was also significantly less in college compared to high school (p<0.05), although time spent walking or bicycling for transportation was significantly increased from 5.6 ± 16.1 min/d in high school to 49.5 ± 57 min/d in college (p<0.001). These results indicate that students in this population experienced moderate weight gain during their first year in college, in conjunction with a decrease in vigorous-intensity physical activity and modest changes in food intake. Weight gain occurred despite large increases in time spent walking and bicycling for transportation. Interventions to increase vigorous physical activity, especially activities beyond walking and bicycling, may be particularly important in preventing weight gain in this population.