Holiday Weight Gain in College Students

Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season. The next five weeks are filled with family, friends, finals, and lots of food! It's no wonder that the average American packs on a few pounds during the holidays. I believe that college students are even more susceptible to weight gain over the holidays for several reasons.

First of all is Thanksgiving. For some students this is the first time home since August and you're dying for some home cooking. And who doesn't love a good Thanksgiving feast? Most people overindulge at Thanksgiving with foods that are full of butter, sugar, and fat. Enough about Thanksgiving, I'll expand more on that in my next post.

After Thanksgiving college students return to school and are faced with final projects, final papers, and final exams. This is a very stressful time especially for the first year students who are experiencing their first final exam week. Finals time often means late nights at Willy T, skipped workouts, and increased stress levels. All of these are contributors to weight gain. Most students who stay up late to study or finish an assignment will end up consuming an extra 250-1000 calories than they normally would each day. These calories usually come from energy drinks, snacks, and added meals. Skipping workouts means that calories are not being burned, and spending more time studying decreases daily calorie burn. Instead of consuming extra calories during finals, most students should actually cut back on calories because of decreased activity. And stress often leads to eating when you're not hungry. Stress eating combined with the distraction of studying can lead to some very dangerous mindless eating. Ever grab a bag of something to snack on while studying, and next thing you know the entire bag is gone!? That's mindless eating. I'll post more about mindless eating before we get into finals week.

Once winter break arrives college students head home to their family and friends. Just like Thanksgiving, Christmas break is filled with lots of food and drinks that can lead you to consume extra calories. Christmas cookies, pies, and other pastries are fine in moderation, but you should not eat multiple servings each day around Christmas. Also be careful of liquid calories. Many of the warm, creamy beverages we love when the weather is cold can pack about 350 calories per 12 oz. serving. Drink just 10 servings and you will have consumed enough calories to gain one pound.

Not only do we often consume extra calories over winter break, but many college students also get out of their regular exercise routine. When you're at school it's fairly easy to go to the Johnson Center to workout. When you head home it's not always as easy to access a fitness facility, but you can find other ways to stay active without a gym. Go back to the basics and do some calisthenics in your living room. Jumping jacks. high knees, and butt kicks will still burn calories. If it happens to snow where you are over winter break, go shovel some snow. Not only will you burn about 400 calories an hour, you'll also have happy parents!

Don't let yourself be someone that gains weight over the holidays. Stay active and make smart dietary choices! I'll post several more times about staying healthy over the holidays, so stay tuned!