Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis reported in the Journal of American College Health that about 70 percent of students gain a significant amount of weight between the start of college and the end of their sophomore year.,”The ominous "freshman 15" is on the minds of freshmen and, according to recent studies, on their waistbands as well.
Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis reported in the Journal of American College Health that about 70 percent of students gain a significant amount of weight between the start of college and the end of their sophomore year.
A separate study conducted at Cornell University found that 60 out of 68 students gained a significant amount of weight during the first 12 weeks of their freshman year.
The Cornell study said freshmen gained an average of 4.2 pounds during their first 12 weeks at college, which is a weight gain rate that is almost 11 times more than the weekly weight gain expected in 18-year-olds and almost 20 times more than the average weight gain of an American adult.
The studies concluded that significant weight gain during students' college years is a real phenomenon and considerably greater than that observed in the general population.
According to Barb Troy, assistant professor of biomedical sciences, weight gain results from an energy imbalance, which is consuming too many calories and expelling too few.
"Combining the food availability with a demanding class and social schedule results in exercise becoming a low priority," Troy said.
The quick and significant weight gain that often accompanies college years suggests students' self-care, or making healthy lifestyle decisions regarding food and exercise, is "far from ideal," according to Troy.
"More importantly, unhealthy lifestyle patterns acquired during the college years may last a lifetime," Troy said.
Unhealthy lifestyle patterns leading to weight gain may prove important as a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine last week found that carrying 10 to 20 extra pounds into mid-life can be potentially fatal.
The study consisted of more than a half-million people and found that overweight, but not obese, men over the age of 50 were associated with a 5 percent to 49 percent increased risk of premature death. There was also a 19 percent to 37 percent increase risk of premature death in overweight women.
According to Jill Winters, associate professor in the College of Nursing, "the only way you can lose weight is to reduce calories consumed and increase calories burned." However, this can be problematic.
"Immediate problems resulting from rapid weight gain revolve around body image issues and lead to depression and/or eating disorders," Troy said.
Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are emotionally and physically dangerous, but according to assistant professor of philosophy Keith Bauer, such disorders may also carry moral consequences.
"Drastic measures to lose weight can lead to poorer health while providing only a cosmetic change, such as binging and purging, (which) might be unethical," Bauer said.
Bauer said such measures raise ethical questions when a person fails to value himself or herself adequately as a human being with inherent worth by "engaging in risky and potentially harmful behaviors to lose weight."
Students should be aware that there is help available at Marquette if someone feels his or her relationship with food is unhealthy, whether that be overeating, under-eating, binging, purging or feeling out of control around food.
For dietetic appointments contact Student Health Services at 288-7184, or for emotional counseling contact the Counseling Center at 288-7172.
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