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Good news! A recent study just came out to say that the “Freshman 15” is more like 5 to 7! Of course, it’s followed by the “Sophomore 2 or 3” but even that is 7 to 10 at best!
Amazingly, doctor’s aren’t satisfied with the results and see things to be afraid of. They’ve even started naming the next generation “Generation XL!”
What I find interesting is this statement that is located near the end of the article:
No one knows why, but the researchers are continuing their study to try to find out. Possible explanations include more drinking (alcohol contains calories), more socializing that involves eating, high-fat foods in dorm cafeterias and less physical activity, the researchers said. (emphasis mine)
Why are kids gaining more weight when they get to college? I’m pretty sure that, for one thing, their whole pattern of life is changing. Their parents aren’t there to enforce bed times, meal portions, etc. They are under stress to get things done. I’m sure there’s a lot of potential reasons, but I believe that they all must center around self discipline.
Find me a young man or woman that has good self discipline and I think that you’ll find a person that is able to control their weight. Why? Because they will have their life scheduled in a way to minimize stress. They will be able to say “enough” when others are not.
And, according to Thomas Wadden, president of the Obesity Society and director of the Center for Weight and Eating Disorders at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine:
“I suspect part of this is they now have access to large amounts of food they can eat freely,” without anyone at home saying enough is enough.
So, parents, teaching your children discipline when they’re young will (I know, big surprise) help them to live long and productive lives and control their weight!
So true. My mom never had pop in the house or chips. Water was the beverage of choice, not juice. In fact, we sometimes had grape juice on hand but it was for my dad. Weird, huh. I worked in a fast food restaurant in high school, and pop was free. Learned to love it, and realized how it affected my attitude and gave it up. I now get weird looks at fast food restaurants when I request water instead of pop. Maybe this helps me make up for all the high-carb foods I fix my family (lol).
My dh, on the other hand, was raised on fast foods, always had chips/snacks/candy bars accessible…kool-aid and sweet tea. Thankfully he has a great metabolism and is as thin now as he was when he graduated high school! Not fair, huh. I’m sure learning a lot from the KS Milkmaid’s blog. Her husband is 47 and diagnosed with terminal cancer. They’re taking an alternative approach to healing and finding out that all his eating habits (convenience foods) have made him really toxic. It’s fascinating. I have a link to her from my blog if anyone is interested. Definitely pray for them.
So, these bad habits can catch up with us. Thankfully, my dh is now a water-lover like me. His dad’s dr told him to tell his sons to get off caffeine now or they’d have prostate problems when they got older. Dh complied immediately.
I gained about 15 pounds my freshman year, but it wasn’t due to drinking. We ate lots of junk food and portion control didn’t apply in the cafe. We watched a lot of TV as well…
I gained a bunch my freshman year, but I attributed that to one dinner meal where I kept eating on break from working so that I could talk with each different shift as I came off. Definitely portion control.