(U-WIRE) PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Magic bars. Late-night pizza at the Gate. Vermonsters. These and other foods often lead to the Freshman 15, a nickname for weight gained in the first year of college. Dr. Heli Roy, a researcher and specialist at Louisiana State University, is studying the factors that cause this problem. Roy has found that men stay near the same weight their first year of college while women gain an average of four pounds. Though she has not collected any "activity data," this gender difference may be the result of males playing sports several times a week, Roy said. Roy said she is looking at the possibility that first-year weight gain is a normal development. "I am not ready to say that they put on 15 pounds of fat," she said. "It may simply be that at the age that a lot of students enter college, they have not fully matured yet in terms of weight and height." Even though students often use walking as their means of transportation, they sit in class for long periods, Roy said. Preventing the Freshman 15 is a shared responsibility of the university and the students, Roy said. She suggested that dining halls make nutritional information accessible to students on a daily basis. Besides providing healthier food options, dining halls could modify meal plans so they are not all-you-can-eat, decreasing the likelihood of returning for second helpings, she said. Roy said students should eat foods such as whole grain breads, fresh fruits and salads, and try to eat every four to five hours to avoid feeling famished and then overeating. Students should also remember there are no "forbidden foods." They should eat what they like but control portion sizes to avoid feeling deprived, she said. It is also important for students to stay active and to drink milk to get enough calcium, Roy said. "Ignoring this results in what we have now, when more than 60 percent of Americans are overweight," she said. "Some of the benefits of addressing children and young adults about health issues is that they are not rooted in long history as older adults are about things and can change their habits and patterns." Though students and universities can take steps to prevent weight gain, Roy cautioned against striving to attain an impossible body. "Look at the shape of your siblings, parents and grandparents. Your genes have a large part in determining your shape," Roy said. "You cannot be very skinny if that is not your family shape. However, we can all be within a normal weight with appropriate amount of physical activity and sensible eating." (C) 2001 Brown Daily Herald via U-WIRE
