Students gain wisdom and weight in college: study

By Toni Clarke

BOSTON (Reuters Life!) - Students heading for college have more than classes and term papers to look forward to: many can expect to pile on the pounds.

While the popular belief that college students gain an average of 15 pounds (6.8 kg) during their freshman year may be exaggerated, a recent study shows many students do gain weight.

A study of 907 students at a large public university in the Midwest showed that during their freshman year, both males and females gained an average of 7.8 pounds (3.5 kg), most of it in the first semester. More than a third of the students gained 10 pounds (4.5 kg) or more and nearly 20 percent gained 15 pounds (6.8 kg) or more.

The study, released on Sunday at the annual meeting of The Obesity Society in Boston, showed students did not lose the weight and continued to gain.

By the end of their sophomore year, men were on average 9.5 pounds (4.3 kg) heavier than when they began college and females were 9.2 pounds (4.2 kg) heavier. Just over 20 percent were classified as overweight or obese at the start of college and 35 percent were considered overweight or obese at the end of the sophomore year, according to the study.

Researchers blamed academic stress, changes in family support, alcohol and the easy availability of fatty food as the main causes for the weight gain.

A separate study of 383 students at a private university in the Northeast, showed that during their freshman year, males gained an average of 5.6 pounds (2.5 kg) while females gained 3.6 pounds (1.6 kg).

The studies were sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.