Ashley Walters

English 113
Professor Lacey
February 5, 2015
Research Paper

Healthy College Years

For many students, college is brand new fresh start to life. Theyve left their boundaries
of high school, and now its time to move on to the next chapter in life. For most students, they
think of college as a place of freedom and choice. Theyre thinking of all the possible things they
can do without their parents decision. This all starts with going to parties, going out to eat all
hours of the night, and better yet buying their own food and making meals themselves. All of
these are a progression to possible weight gain. Studies have shown that 1of 3 College students
gain five to fifteen pounds their freshman year. This doesnt mean that everyone gains that much
weight, but it is likely. The fact is most student gain weight in their first semester due to the
environment changes and their routine.
Many students in high school were either playing a sport or were taking a P.E. class of
some sort. This means that they were pretty active while in school. Now that these students are in
college, where they have tougher class, all-nighters, and lack of sleep, this slows down their
metabolism which means this is when the pounds start adding on. Students think once theyve
gain the weight, theres no possible way to get back in shape. But they are completely wrong!!
There are so many ways to get yourself healthier and involved while in college. Most all college

have a fitness center that has some kind of free access to. There are healthier choices to make in
the cafeterias or healthy ways to make your lunch from home.
There are many ways to kick start fitness level and achieve those goals youve been
wanting. Number one: Join a intramurals with friends. Intramural games are usually played three
times a week. Therefor you get a good cardio workout in three times a week! Number two:
embrace your room workouts. You do not need a gym membership to workout. All you need is a
enough space in your room to do varieties of different workout. The technology we have these
days, gives you a variety of different workouts as well as stretching exercises as well online as
well as downloading a fitness app. Number 3: make a schedule. Making a schedule of your
school and work as well as a workout plan, will motivate you to stay on track with your
schedule. Tell your friends about your plans and have them join you as well. Working out with
others will help you push yourself as well as motivate others around you.
Due to the fact that college tuition is becoming more and more expensive, college
students are spending more money on school than on anything else. Once you become a college
student, your parents tend not to help you pay for things you want anymore. They send you off to
college and expect you to figure things out on your own. At that point it all starts with food and
necessities. Students, who dont work, try to find easy ways to get cheap food. This then leads to
fast food restaurants, where you can get a double cheeseburger for three dollars, with a large
soda and fries. That then makes them pack on calories with no nutrition value. The struggle is
within college students. College students need to be well aware of what Nutrition and Exercise
does to their bodies, and how it can benefit them in so many ways while they are in their studies.
Late night eating, all-nighters, lack of exercise, and much more will not help them succeed
through their studies and later on in life.

Attending College for the first time can be a stressful experience for many new college
students. In fact, one study that evaluated the cardiovascular health needs of college students
found that nearly 60 percent of the students rated their stress levels as high or very high
(Nguyen-Michel, Unger, Hamilton, & Spruijt-Metz, 2006). The experience of stress is likely to
be a regular occurrence in the lives of new college students, given the nature of the transition that
they are making. Torres & Nowson (2007) defines stress as any general response of the body that
either overwhelms or threatens to overwhelm the body and its ability to maintain homeostasis. In
general, stress occurs when there are demands on an individual that exceed his or her coping
capabilities. And the reaction to stress may have a toll on a student depending on the nature of
the events that are occurring and the characteristics of the individual (Dyson & Renk, 2006). One
common natural stressor for any college student is when an exam is coming up. But earning
high grades is not the only source of stress for college students. Other potential sources of stress
include excessive homework, unclear assignments, and uncomfortable classrooms. In addition to
academic expectations and requirements, relations with faculty members and time pressures may
also be sources of stress. Relationships with family and friends, eating and sleeping habits, and
loneliness may affect some students adversely (Ross, Neibling, & Heckert, 1999).
There are many different types of ways you can find out how you are regularly eating as
well as trying to keep a close track of your daily intake. Below is a Complusive Eating Scale
survey. I have come up with different types of questions that would be a possible reason for your
weight gain. There is many solutions to relieve stress though through taking different test or
simple just EXERCISING!

Age ______ Race ______ Gender ______ Class rank ______

Compulsive Eating Scale (CES) How often do you do each of the following activities?
Circle the one answer for each question that comes closest to describing you.
1. Eat because you are feeling lonely.
a. Never b. Once or twice a year c. Once a month d. Once a week e. More than once
a week
2. Feel completely out of control when it comes to food.
a. Never b. Once or twice a year c. Once a month d. Once a week e. More than once
a week
3. Eat so much that your stomach hurts.
a. Never b. Once or twice a year c. Once a month d. Once a week e. More than once
a week
4. Eat too much because you are upset or nervous.
a. Never b. Once or twice a year c. Once a month d. Once a week e. More than once
a week
5. Eat too much because you are bored.
a. Never b. Once or twice a year c. Once a month d. Once a week e. More than once
a week

There are many emotional events a person goes through once they hit college years.
Theres the stress of exams, homework, school projects, reading assignment and much more.
Being in college takes a lot of your free time away that you used to have in high school; instead
of going out on the weekends with friends, youre sitting in your dorm room hustling and trying
to finish homework thats due the next day. What every college student needs to realize is there
are moments when your body needs to relax and relive all thats stress thats within their bodies.
School stress, relationship stress and family stress takes a huge toll on a persons body no matter
what the situation is. Thats where fitness and health comes in and ties this all together. Taking
well care of your body relieves stress. Working out at least 30 minutes a day will relieve all that
tension that is built up within your body. Realize what youre doing to your body and change
that, because the fact is, you need to change your habits to a healthier you and it will make you a
better you!