by Elizabeth Frain

Created on: September 05, 2010

College is a time of many transitions and new responsibilities and freedom for many students. It is normally the first time they have ever lived away from there family and been responsible for not only there studies but also every other aspect of there lives. This includes nutrition and exercise. Many students won't have had to make there own meals before college, and those who have will have normally had some guidance from there parents to ensure they get the right amount of nutrients and that the food is not loaded with sugars and salt. It's because of this new found freedom that many students gain weight during there first year at college as they have a lot more fast food and junk food than they normally would and with the college lifestyle and extra workload exercise is neglected. However there are a few tips to ensure that you aren't one of the students dealing with this, and can have an enjoyable time at college whilst keeping healthy and maintaining your weight.

1. Exercise

Many students forget about exercise when they start college, with all the new people and activities it gets pushed to the bottom of the pile. However with a half hour slot of exercise a day such as walking to the store instead of driving or getting off the bus a stop early or going for a walk between lectures, not only will you find your weight is maintained it also have other benefits such as better concentration, more alert as you are able to get a better nights rest and a better mood. Exercise does not necessarily have to mean time in the gym or sports, although if this type of exercise works for you then it can have good social benefits by meeting new people which is especially good during the first year at university when most people are on there own and want to meet as many people as possible and make new friends. However there are many other types of exercise, basically anything that gets you moving, so walking more or taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

2. Nutrition

College life is famous for bad nutrition with the new option of fast food and junk food whenever they want many students who maybe have never cooked before and don't necessarily know how to or do know how to but just feel junk foods more convenient, seem to take this option more than they ever would have during high school. However this also means there calorie intakes goes up by quite a lot and there excise and the amount of calories they burn during the day doesn't go up which means they put on weight.

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