Kristopher Davis enrolled in UTC as a freshman in the fall of 2003. At the time, thanks to his mother’s sound nutritional practices, he was fit and looked good.
By the end of the year, things had changed.
“When I went home that summer, people kept telling me how much weight I gained,” he said.
That came without too much surprise, though. Davis, now a graduate student at UTC, said he began noticing his weight gain by the start of spring semester. But it crept up slowly, just a quarter pound here and a half pound there.
A recent study at Cornell University found freshmen consumed an average of 174 extra calories per day from “empty-calorie” foods and beverages, such as chips and popcorn. These added calories cause students to pack on more than a quarter pound each week, 11 times the average weekly weight gain of healthy 18-year-olds.
A University of Indiana study, meanwhile, indicates that 60 percent of college students experience weight gain in their freshman year, about 7 pounds for women and 9 pounds for men.
When Davis first came to UTC, he was eating all the time – day and night, he said.
“My mom not being here in Chattanooga and cooking for me every day played a huge role in my gaining weight,” he said. “I lived on campus and maintained a really busy schedule, so I ate out of our food court, and we really didn’t have many nutritious choices, but it served its purpose.”
Late-night studying and hanging out with friends, eating burgers, fries and pizza in the food court, and eating in restaurants around town “ordering the unhealthiest foods you could think of,” along with drinking more soft drinks than he did back home in Memphis caused the pounds to add up, David said.
By the end of his freshman year, he was 18 pounds heavier than when he began. “I couldn’t fit into 80 percent of the clothes in my closet,” he said.
Tracy Noerper, a registered dietitian with the Southeast Dairy Association, said Davis fell into the same trap as many new college students away from home for the first time.
“I call it my three S’s,” she said. “Schedules, social dining and snacking late. One study showed freshmen take in 500 calories between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m.”
To thwart this weight gain, Noerper suggests keeping a healthy stock of snacks in the room, including whole-grain crackers and cereal with low-fat milk.
“Eating in the cafeteria is a new experience for many freshmen,” she said. “It’s a place where they can get everything at their fingertips.”
Noerper’s advice: Avoid fried foods and pick up fresh fruits and vegetables, along with lean meats and whole-grain pastas. And don’t forget to exercise. Walk or bike to class, and enroll in an exercise or yoga class for credit.
On a brighter note, Davis has now initiated a personal weight-loss program. He’s even given it a name: FAT2FAB2010 and has lost five pounds in the last three months. He realizes this may not sound like a lot to some people.
“But for me, it’s a tremendous step,” he said. “I’ve been eating much better and leaving bread behind, not eating big meals after 8 o’clock at night and eating more fruits and vegetables.
“I think one of the biggest parts of my weight loss is the fact that I cook for myself. This way, I can be more conscientious of how I season my food and what I am actually eating. I also walk and run three miles every day. I feel better as a result.”