The human body is one of the most adaptable constructs in the world. Whenever exposed to a new stimulus the body immediately works to identify it, quantify it and figure out how to fix it or work with it in the future. This is why it is nearly impossible to have the chicken pox twice and it’s the same reason why the body normally builds muscle due to prolonged weight lifting. But for the most part the weight fluctuations in college are due to three major stimuli: stress, environment and nutrition.
Stress
College is a very stressful place. It is the place where old and childish tendencies that were present in high school are forced to disappear in order to be replaced my allegedly more adult and responsible ones. That sort of change can’t just happen without some sort outward representation of the change. For many this comes in the form of significant weight gain or even weight loss. It could also come in the forms of hair loss, changes in sleep patterns, attitude change, lack of appetite or increased appetite. All of which can have a play in how your weight changes.
Environment
For some people staying active in high school was their entire life and for others it was an afterthought. Walking from place to place may not have been a necessity with cars, buses, trains, subways, cabs and basically any form of vehicle transport available. But in college many have to walk more than they did before. Walking has been proven to be a great form of cardiovascular activity even though many may not be aware of this fact. Conversely those that did walk everywhere before may not have to anymore because their school’s location is in a highly metropolitan area where walking is not as needed thus cutting out that form of natural exercise.
Nutrition
More often than not, the style of nutrition that college students face falls under what is cheap, what tastes good, what isn’t from the cafeteria, what you can get a lot of and what is alcoholic. More often than not the foods that fall into at least two of these categories are not the greatest foods to fuel the body as they usually have exorbitant caloric values. As the basic function goes: if you eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight. But then there is the complete converse in when students do not get enough nutrients from the foods that they’re eating and the body suffers. Having some coffee for breakfast, skipping lunch and then having a slice of pizza following a session of drinking will not fuel the body either. Most students either overfill their tank or underfill it with a small minority that adequately feed themselves.
Now all this not to say that going to college will make you incredibly fat and it isn’t to say that it will make you look like you’re starving. College itself is a giant stimulus that your body tries to get used to and every single new thing that is thrown at you will have a physical effect. Once you understand how your body reacts to different stressful situation, your new environment and the kinds of foods you should be eating it’s easier to maintain your weight or even change it according to your liking.
