Most College Women Diet on a Regular Basis
While dieting is a common practice among college women, a study reported in the Nutrition Journal has found that 83 percent of them diet no matter how much they weigh.
Worse, skipping breakfast and smoking are often the unhealthy techniques they use to try to reach their ideal size, according to the study authors.
Brenda M. Malinauskas, Ph.D., lead author of the study, polled 185 women college students, ages 18 to 24, about their dieting practices and physical activity.
"I was a little bit surprised about the high percentage of women dieting," notes Dr. Malinauskas, an assistant professor in the department of nutrition and hospitality management at East Carolina University.
In previous research, says Dr. Malinauskas, she recalls seeing a figure of about 70 percent.
"I don't think it has increased," she says of college dieting. "I think it might be the way we classified dieting."
Among the dieting behaviors she asked about were consciously eating less than you want, using artificial sweeteners, skipping breakfast, and smoking for weight control.
The researchers measured the women's height and weight, as well as other measurements, and classified them as normal weight, overweight, or obese. Many of the methods used to lose weight were used by the women regardless of their weight.
Consciously eating less was reported by 44 percent of the normal weight women, 57 percent of the overweight, and 81 percent of the obese.
Artificial sweeteners were used equally by normal weight and overweight, with 31 percent of each group using them. Only 5 percent of obese women reported using the artificial sweeteners.
Smoking cigarettes was used as a weight-control measure overall by 9 percent of respondents. And 32 percent said they skipped breakfast.
The use of laxatives after eating was reported by 3 percent, and vomiting to control weight was reported by 5 percent.
Eighty percent of the women said they exercised to lose or control weight, but they did not do enough to achieve that, remarks Dr. Malinauskas.
"We found a large percentage - 80 percent - used physical activity to control weight, but only 19 percent exercised to the level they would need to lose weight," says Dr. Malinauskas.
Fifty-eight percent of the women said they felt pressure to be a certain weight, and that the pressure came from themselves, the media, and friends.
As to the use of various practices, Dr. Malinauskas says, "we really didn't find much difference due to body weight. I thought that we would have a higher frequency [of weight-control practices] in the overweight." But that was not always the case.
The research points to the need for individual counseling of college women to help them learn which practices to lose and maintain weight are healthy and which are not, she explains.
She suggests college women who need guidance in weight control seek out help at the student health center on campus, which is likely to include a registered dietitian on staff.
The study results come as no surprise to Connie Diekman, director of nutrition for Washington University in St. Louis.
"It's an interesting study," says Diekman. "It affirms something we see. It pretty much holds with the girls I work with. They often don't know what healthy dieting is, they are focused only on the weight, as a number, but they aren't looking on how to achieve a healthy weight in a healthy way."
When Diekman counsels college women and men, she encourages them to make behavioral changes slowly, not to make radical dietary changes they will not be able to keep up.
"Look at your current food choices," she says she tells students. "Try to adjust portions or make better choices."
She says she also encourages them to pay more attention to regular physical activity, especially since workouts are hit-and-miss for many college students.
"If it's a bad week at school, they cut back," she says. "If fun things are going on, they cut back. Overall, their physical activity is not at a level that would promote weight loss."
For breakfast skippers, she suggests: "Start with a cup of yogurt or a piece of string cheese or a banana. Just eat something. It's a start."
Skipping breakfast is linked to overeating later in the day, and to decreased school performance, she notes.
Always consult your physician for more information.
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Many of the strategies that produce successful weight loss and maintenance help prevent obesity.
Improving eating habits and increasing physical activity play a vital role in preventing obesity.
Recommendations for adults include:
Eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily. A vegetable serving is one cup of raw vegetables or one-half cup of cooked vegetables or vegetable juice.
A fruit serving is one piece of small to medium fresh fruit, one-half cup of canned or fresh fruit or fruit juice, or one-fourth cup of dried fruit.
Choose whole grain foods such as brown rice and whole wheat bread. Avoid highly processed foods made with refined white sugar, flour, and saturated fat.
Weigh and measure food in order to be able to gain an understanding of portion sizes. For example, a 3-ounce serving of meat is the size of a deck of cards. Avoid supersized menu items.
Balance the food “checkbook.” Taking in more calories than are expended for energy will result in weight gain. Regularly monitor weight.
Avoid foods that are high in “energy density,” or that have a lot of calories in a small amount of food. For example, a large cheeseburger with a large order of fries may have almost 1,000 calories and 30 or more grams of fat.
By ordering a grilled chicken sandwich or a plain hamburger and a small salad with low-fat dressing, you can avoid hundreds of calories and eliminate much of the fat intake.
For dessert, have fruit or a piece of angel food cake rather than the “death by chocolate” special or three pieces of home-made pie.
Remember that much may be achieved with proper choices in serving sizes.
Accumulate at least 30 minutes or more of moderate-intensity activity on most, or preferably all, days of the week. Examples of moderate intensity exercise are walking a 15-minute mile, or weeding and hoeing a garden.
Look for opportunities during the day to perform even ten or 15 minutes of some type of activity, such as walking around the block or up and down a few flights of stairs.
While losing weight is difficult for many people, it is even more challenging to keep weight off. Eighty percent to 85 percent of those who lose a large amount of weight regain it.
One theory about regaining lost weight is that people who decrease their caloric intake to lose weight experience a drop in their metabolic rate, making it increasingly difficult to lose weight over a period of months.
A lower metabolic rate may also make it easier to regain weight after a more normal diet is resumed. For these reasons, extremely low calorie diets and rapid weight loss are discouraged.
Losing no more than one to two pounds per week is recommended. Incorporating long-term lifestyle changes will increase the chance of successful long-term weight loss.
Weight loss to a healthy weight for a person’s height can promote health benefits such as lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels, lower blood pressure, less stress on bones and joints, and less work for the heart.
Thus, it is vital to maintain weight loss to obtain health benefits over a lifetime.
Always consult your physician for more information.
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