Acclimating to the High-Octane College Food Environment

Abstract

To evaluate the association between weight gain and psychological dimensions of appetite, a sample of 83 ethnically diverse first-year undergraduate females had body mass index (BMI) assessed and completed self-report measures of hedonic hunger, mindfulness, and intuitive eating. Positive associations between mindfulness and intuitive eating and negative links between intuitive eating and hedonic hunger and BMI were observed over time. BMI gainers experienced a significant decline in intuitive eating across the first college semester. No significant between-group effects for mindfulness or hedonic hunger were detected. Preliminary results suggest that changes in internally derived appetite- and consumption-regulating processes may underlie weight gain during the first-year college transition. Implications for optimizing college health promotion efforts for young women at this developmental juncture are discussed.