It appears that college students' penchant for fast food and sleeping in may finally be catching up to them. According to a recent study conducted by the American College Health Association, nearly three out of every 10 college students are considered overweight or obese.
Although Massachusetts is regarded as a state with one of the healthiest populations in the nation, Jennifer Sacheck, an assistant professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition's John Hancock Center, said that Tufts students do not stray far from the national obesity trend.
"After coordinating our annual Tufts Longitudinal Health Survey, we found that a pretty good percentage of Tufts students, according to their body mass indexes, would be considered overweight," Sacheck said.
The survey looked at a variety of different ways of quantifying student health, including "health behaviors, as well as fitness and anthropometrics testing and a blood draw," Sacheck said. The results indicated that about one-quarter of the Tufts students surveyed were considered overweight.
The trend, both at Tufts and otherwise, can partially be ascribed to a simultaneous national increase in childhood obesity. But not all of the blame can be placed on lifestyle habits developed by children before college, given that most students actually gain weight within their first year living on campus.
This phenomenon is known colloquially as the "freshman 15," but according to Dr. Julie Lampie, registered dietitian and nutritionist for Dining Services, students generally gain less weight than the term suggests.
"The 'freshman 15' is somewhat of a misnomer - the weight gain usually tends to be more like six pounds, which, although lower, still indicates a change in dietary habits and physical fitness upon coming to college," Lampie said.
Changes in dietary habits can result from factors like late-night pizza binges and increased alcohol consumption, she said, but they are most likely the result of on-campus dining options.
"The typical freshman weight gain is usually due to an increased access to food, especially because of the unlimited meal plan," Lampie said. "It also has to do with the increased variety in food options, which many of us didn't have at home."
Freshman weight gain can also be a result of emotional issues.
"The typical freshman five- to six-pound weight gain at Tufts can be attributed to a bunch of different factors, which often vary by the student's gender," said Sacheck. "[In our study], we tend to focus on how stressful factors would lead to weight gain."
But while most freshmen do gain some weight when they first come to college, in many cases the increase tends to either level off or reverse by the following year.
"The trend tends to be that students gain weight when they start college, but then usually lose the weight gained during that first summer back home, which causes them to make better choices upon returning for their sophomore year," Lampie said.
Sacheck said that more informed students may not wait until sophomore year to begin focusing on their nutritional health.
"Whenever I present nutritional information to incoming college freshmen, each year they tend to know more and more about nutrition. Students are more informed and have a lot more awareness than they used to," Sacheck said.
Lampie said that, as a whole, Tufts students try to make healthy lifestyle choices at college.
"I really feel like there is a trend on campus where students are choosing healthier options; people's intentions tend to be typically good," Lampie said.
An example of this upward trend can be portrayed in the recent additions of certain nutrition-based clubs and initiatives on campus. One group in particular, Food Talk, which originated at the end of last year, has been holding a number of events to educate students about ways to approach the college lifestyle in a healthy manner.
"The Food Talk club started as a way for students to connect with Dining Services to voice their opinions and find ways to improve health on campus," said sophomore Arielle Carpenter, the club's founder. "We've generated a lot of interest so far this year, but we're always open to accepting new members - anyone is welcome."
In addition to educating students about healthy food and lifestyle choices, the club has also worked with Dining Services to evaluate the options available to students.
"The dining halls are doing a great job at providing the student body with healthy options, but we could improve the overall health of our campus by reducing the amount of fried food available, as well as educating students about the healthier alternatives," Carpenter said.
Of course, even if students become more educated about the benefits of healthier food options, it doesn't mean they will stop eating the foods that they so often crave.
"We try to have healthy options for students at the dining halls. We always have three different vegetables available at Dewick; we have a plethora of choices in terms of fruit, and recently we've made grilled chicken available at both lunch and dinner," Lampie said. "However, our top two items [among students] are still fried chicken fingers and mozzarella sticks."
While students will likely never stop eating fried food, Lampie said, having more healthy choices in the dining halls is still important.
"The more variety of healthy options that are provided, the higher the chances are that those options will be consumed," Lampie said. "I really do think there is a movement toward students making healthy choices when eating at the dining hall. One trend is the increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, as well as a higher demand for whole-grain foods."
In addition to the desire to eat healthier, many students see an equal desire amongst their peers to stay physically fit.
"All my friends at Tufts are pretty active; we all do some sort of sport, whether varsity, intramural or otherwise," freshman Jack Irmas said.
According to Lampie, there are a variety of other options at Tufts in terms of maintaining physical activity.
"Students are undoubtedly using the fitness center, and I know the [freshman pre-orientation] F.I.T. program has definitely expanded," Lampie said.
Carpenter agreed: "I think that people have a desire to work out and go to the gym; you also always see people walking and biking to class," she said.
Lampie said that, between improved fitness and constant additions of healthy dining options, obesity is far from an epidemic here at Tufts despite the findings of the Longitudinal Health Survey.
"Yes, there are students who would be considered overweight, but I don't tend to see students who would be considered obese. Of course, there are isolated cases, but overall, as a campus, obesity is definitely not an issue," Lampie said.
As with students on all college campus, Sacheck said, Jumbos must find an equilibrium that will help them keep fit.
"Staying healthy at Tufts is a balancing act," Sacheck said.
