Freshman 5 may put young women on road to obesity (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - "Freshman 15," the idea thatnew college students put on 15 pounds of weight in the firstyear, may be a myth, but young women do gain about five pounds,Canadian researchers report.

"It's still alarming because that happened over six toseven months," Dr. Janis A. Randall Simpson told ReutersHealth. "If young women going to university continue to put onweight at that rate it could be very problematic."

The few studies to date of weight gain among collegefreshman have found that they do put on a few pounds, but farless than 15, say Randall Simpson and her colleagues at theUniversity of Guelph, Ontario, and elsewhere. However, most ofthese studies have been small, haven't separated females frommales, and have had other limitations.

To investigate further, the researchers followed 116 youngwomen as they entered college, asking them about lifestyle anddiet and checking their weight, fat mass, body mass index (BMI)and waist circumference in August/September 2004, November2004, and March 2005.

During that time, girls' weight increased by 2.4 kilograms(5.3 pounds), on average. Average BMI went from 22.3 to 23.1,while body fat percentage rose from 23.8 percent to 25.6percent. Their waists also expanded by an average of 2.5centimeters (about 1 inch), the researchers report in theJournal of the American Dietetic Association.

The study participants' calorie intake didn't increaseduring the course of the study, and their alcohol consumptiononly rose from 2.7 to 3.1 drinks a week, the researchers found.Time spent watching TV fell by 44 percent, but computer timejumped by an hour a day.

A statistical analysis suggested that girls who wereengaged in less moderate activity in college than in highschool were more likely to gain weight, Randall Simpsonexplained.

It's possible, she added, that girls who participated insports during high school decided to skip athletic teamparticipation in college because they were spending more timestudying.

While their study found no increase in calorie intake, theresearcher noted, it relied on the girls' report of what theyhad eaten in the previous 24 hours, which isn't necessarily areliable way to gauge a person's average calorie consumption.At college, she pointed out, "they do have cafeterias availablewhere it's all you can eat."

The findings suggest that colleges should do more toincorporate physical activity into the lives of female collegestudents, and she advised that girls entering college shouldwatch what they eat and be sure to get enough exercise. "It'salso common sense," Randall Simpson added. "I'm afraid there'sno magic bullet for all of this."

SOURCE: Journal of the American Dietetic Association, June2008.