College Students Gain Weight for Variety of Reasons

College students gain weight for a variety of reasons their first year at college, and it continues to build as they go through school.

These reasons include but aren't limited to:

• A Busy Schedule

When college students hit universities for the first time, they are often shocked at the work load that comes with their classes. On top of that, if students participate in extra-curriculars or clubs, they're even more prone to stress and little time to eat a healthy meal or exercise. 

• Homesickness/Depression

Students often are away from home for the first time in their lives when they head to college. Sometimes, homesickness or depression leads to heavy eating and lethargic-ness which makes students not want to exercise. Also, students may have been fed healthy meals by their parents at home in which they had little choice of what they were being served and ate it anyway. At college, they have a buffet of all kinds of carbs and cholesterol they've never been exposed to before. They are more likely to indulge and choose unhealthy options with so many options before them.

Winter months tend to be the worst for weight gain since seasonal affective disorder very easily affects college students and makes them less willing to step out of their dorms.

• Heavy Partying/Drinking

Lots of partying or drinking on the weekends or even during the week adds lots of calories to a college student's daily intake. Also, if they are experiencing "after shocks" the morning after, they're highly unlikely to want to do anything active that day.

While these reasons are overwhelming to a college student's level of health, it's still possible for them to maintain a healthy lifestyle by making time to exercise at least twice a week as well as making time to eat a healthy meal. 

I for one am often tempted by the fatty foods and desserts that the Mensa offers at Wartburg, and I definitely don't always make time to exercise, but when I think about it, I often spend way too much time on Facebook and watching TV that I really could be using to exercise. So I can't use the excuse that I don't have time. 

Really, it's all a matter of just trying. It's time for college students (and people in general, for that matter) to get off the couch and get active.