College freshman stress and weight change: differences by gender
Christina D Economos1, M Lise Hildebrandt, Raymond R Hyatt
1New Balance Chair in Childhood Nutrition, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA. christina.economos@tufts.edu
Objectives:
To examine how stress and health-related behaviors affect freshman weight change by gender.
Methods:
Three hundred ninety-six freshmen completed a 40-item health behavior survey and height and weight were collected at baseline and follow-up.
Results:
Average weight change was 5.04 lbs for males, 5.49 lbs for females. Weight gain was related to increased alcohol consumption (P=0.014) in men and increased workload (P<0.001) in women. Weight loss was associated with lower academic confidence at baseline (P=0.009) and peer pressure modified by alcohol increase (P=0.025) in men, and fruit/vegetable consumption at baseline (P=0.015) in women.
Conclusions:
Gender-specific approaches to weight management in this population are needed.
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