Back to School: Is Higher Education Making You Fat?

An analysis of newly available U.S. Census Bureau data by the Pew Hispanic Center, for the first time, the number of 18- to 24-year-old Hispanics enrolled in college exceeded 2 million and reached a record 16.5 percent share of all college enrollments.

But, a new study published today in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism (APNM) finds that 4-year higher education has an impact on weight, BMI, and body composition.

The study followed 131 college students from the beginning of their first year to the end of their senior year. After 4 years in college, about 70 percent of students had gained weight, which averaged at 11.68 pounds; males gained significantly more weight, percent body fat , and BMI than females; and the percentage of participants considered overweight or obese increased from 18 percent to 31 percent.

The researchers said while dozens of studies have investigated weight gain during the freshman year of college and have reported on the commonly held belief that students gain an average of 15 lbs their first year of college, theirr study is the first to examine changes in weight, body mass index, body composition, and body shape over the 4-year college period.

"College and university students are often living away from home; they do not have a parent grocery shopping or preparing food for them, Terry Graham, editor of APNM, said. "They can be distracted from their health by their studies and by extracurricular activities. While one can alter their body composition at anytime by tipping the balance of energy intake and expenditure, this investigation demonstrates how important the years of early adulthood can be in this aspect. After 4 years, the changes are quite substantial even though the daily, weekly, and even monthly responses are subtle."

Researchers said the study highlights that students need to make healthy choices and also that the institutions need to take steps to facilitate these decisions.

They also said that the findings clearly suggest the need for additional campus-based health promotion strategies for students from the freshman year through their senior year of college.