by Matthew Albright

Created on: October 07, 2008   Last Updated: October 14, 2008

Whenever a young person gets close to the conclusion of their high school career, they begin to hear all about the changes they will face when they head off to college. Acerbic, cold-hearted professors, stress-induced study heart attacks, and a whole new world of peer pressures. And even if you have the fortitude to handle all of this, there's still the dreaded freshman 15... no matter what you do, you will lose your youthful waistline just as fast as your useful exuberance.

Don't fear, you bright-eyed prospective college kids. You can make it through college without those dreaded 15 pounds.

Statistics from Cornell University indicate that the average weight gain for college freshmen is closer to 4 pounds, so although weight gain may not be as bad as the myth would have you believe, it still exists. More importantly, researchers are concerned about further statistics that indicate that that weight gain continues through the rest of the average student's college career.

There's nothing magical about freshman year. Weight gain is a constant struggle; you have to realize this in order to address the issue successfully.

The problem with transitioning from high school life to college life is that you are finally escaping from your parents' home. With this comes a great expansion of freedoms: to study as much as you want, to party as much as you want, and, unfortunately, to eat as much as you want. Without your parents gentle (or not so gentle) guidance, there is a tendency to go wild and eat whatever and however you much you want.

Compounding the temptation that comes with newfound freedom is the sheer availability of unhealthy food available to college students. Food vendors latch onto the stereotype of college students that maintain a steady pizza and fast food diet, selling exactly those kinds of foods and flooding campuses with their ads.

In the end, nobody can keep the Freshman 15 off of your body for you. You need to take responsibility, and eat both the right quantity and quality of foods. Instead of ordering a pizza, go to the cafeterias and get a decent meal. Don't obsess over it - stress leads to even greater appetite and weight gain - but show some restraint when possible.

Also, do some exercise. It can be tempting after a dreary day of classes and studying to hit the couch and veg out, but if you can muster up the willpower to start some form of excercise regimen you'll begin to see the benefits. Nothing beats the blahs of a day of cramming information into your head like a good workout.

There's nothing magical about transitioning from high-school to college that causes you to gain weight. Although you may not want to admit it, you probably will have eaten better in high-school, because then you were being told when, what, and how much to eat. If you can have the discipline to define these limits and enforce them yourself, there is absolutely no reason why you should gain weight entering your college career.

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