Weight and Body Composition Changes during the First Three Years of College

Abstract

Differences in weight, body mass index (BMI), percent and absolute body fat, fat-free mass, and waist circumference were investigated in a group of males and females during the first three years (from 2007 to 2010) of college. Significant three-year gains were observed for weight 2.1 ± 4.7 kg, BMI 0.7 ± 1.6 kg/m2, percent body fat 2.7 ± 3.3%, and fat mass 2.3 ± 3.5 kg. A significant loss of fat-free mass, −0.5 kg, was observed among females. Absolute gains in weight, BMI, and percent and absolute body fat were highest during the freshman year, followed by the junior year, and lowest during the sophomore year. Among the 70% of students gaining weight over the three years, weight gain averaged 4.3 kg. The numbers of females with over 30% body fat doubled, and the number of males with over 20% body fat increased fivefold. Initially 15% of students were classified as obese/overweight and 79% normal weight; by the end of the junior year, 24% were obese/overweight and 70% were normal weight. Efforts on college campuses to promote healthy lifestyles among its student population are needed throughout the college years.

Lifestyle and Health Habits of a Canadian University Community

“…Similarly, Nicoteri and Miskovsky [21] found that 32% of students were overweight or obese at the end of the senior or graduate year. Although, this does not seem to be a consensus in the literature, because some studies, such as Gropper et al [14] and Racette, Deusinger, Strube, Highstein, and Deusinger [22] found that the percentage of overweight and obese students was lower, at 24% at the end of the junior year and 18% at the end of the sophomore year.…”

“…The literature shows that among university students, weight gain is associated with poor eating habits, stress, and lower physical activity following the transition from a structured high school environment to university [12,13,14]. Because students do experience important weight changes, universities need to focus on increasing health promotion to help them maintain/adopt healthy behaviors [13].…”

A Life Course Perspective on Body Size and Cardio-metabolic Health

“…Transition into a romantic relationship or marriage can cause behavioral changes that lead to the development of obesity (The and Gordon-Larsen 2009;Gordon-Larsen et al 2004), but there is nothing biologically critical about the exact age when this occurs, for example. The same might be true for starting university (Gropper et al 2012), leaving the army (Littman et al 2013), and retiring (Morris et al 1992). The timing of rapid change in a known biological structure/function is critical for the experience of specific environmental stimuli to cause permanent alterations and predict long-term outcomes (Cameron and Demerath 2002).…”

Metabolic syndrome within freshman students; Case study in Jazan Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)

“…Desouky et al (2014) evoked the presence of non-communicable diseases risk factors of among female university students. Gropper et al (2012) demonstrated that poor eating habits and limited physical activity, in adolescence, could be the cause of serious health problems (osteoporosis, obesity, hyperlipedemia, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, impaired mobility, and cancer), later in life.…”