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“Freshman 15” isn’t just a catchy phrase. There’s a nugget of truth to it. The average student gains between 3.5 and 6.6 pounds (1.6 and 3.0 kg) over the course of their studies.
Why are college students more exposed to weight problems? Well, think about it: you’re living through a major life change, which can be stressful. You’re also in charge of what you eat, when you go to bed, and what you do with your days for the first time ever.
You might treat weight as just another, unimportant number, but it is important for your health and well-being, both now and later in life.
Wait, What Does Healthy Weight Even Mean?
Put simply, a healthy weight is your ideal weight based on your age, height, sex, underlying conditions, and other, more intricate factors like body fat distribution.
Ideal weight is individual. There’s no such thing as an ideal weight for everyone, even in a specific category.
While being overweight or underweight increases certain health risks, it doesn’t mean you can draw an equal sign between ideal weight and overall health. Being healthy takes a lot more than reaching a weight goal.
You may have heard of BMI, the body mass index, which uses height and weight to calculate a score. However, it doesn’t take any other factors into account. So, you can have a “normal weight” BMI and still have an unhealthy metabolism. Or, since muscle mass isn’t accounted for, you might be misclassified as “overweight.”
Why Should I Care About Healthy Weight in College?
For starters, being overweight or obese is a known risk factor for:
- High blood pressure
- High LDL (“bad”) cholesterol
- Low HDL (“good”) cholesterol
- Stroke
- Type 2 diabetes
- Heart disease
- Sleep apnea
- Multiple types of cancers
- Early death
Being underweight also carries risks for your overall health. For example, if you intentionally stay underweight, you may be exposing yourself to malnutrition. That can lead to vitamin deficiency or anemia. Unhealthily low weight can also weaken immune response and decrease bone mineral density.
Not to state the obvious, but unhealthy weight can also impact your overall happiness.
To top it all off, the habits you establish in your college years will likely carry over to adulthood and impact your weight in the long run.
Why College Students Are an At-Risk Category
According to the latest Healthy Minds survey, 28% of college students are likely to have an eating disorder (undereating, overeating, or binge eating). But, of course, why people gain or lose weight varies from person to person, but these habits are the usual culprits:
- Eating irregularly and/or skipping meals
- Opting for meals, drinks, or snacks high in calories, sugar, and fat
- Drinking a lot of beverages with added sugars
- Snacking a lot, especially on unhealthy snacks
- Spending a lot of time lying or sitting
- Not sleeping enough
- Coping with stress by eating (or not eating enough because of it)
Imagine this: you move away from your family for the first time. No more homemade meals, no one to impose bedtime. So, you start buying ready-made meals, staying up late, and skipping meals when you’re in a hurry.
Keep in mind: health problems, treatments, and genetics also influence weight.
Habits You Establish Now Will Impact Your Future Weight, Too
In 2026, Tufts researchers published a major longitudinal study that examined how college lifestyle habits influenced lifestyle and body weight over 11 to 20 years.
Here are its key findings:
- More respondents were overweight or obese in adulthood compared to college: 26% vs 12% and 8% vs 2%, respectively.
- Those with an unhealthy lifestyle in college were more likely to gain weight later in life.
- Mean weight gain was most pronounced among those with a stable minimally healthy lifestyle.
- Those who maintained a stable healthy lifestyle showed the lowest weight gain.
This study drives home a crucial point: habits you acquire now will likely become your long-term behaviors even after you graduate. That’s because those habits become the default choice, i.e., the path of least resistance.
Weight & Mental Health in College Students: A Complex Link
College years are, obviously, a stressful time in most students’ lives. You may worry about your finances, or your grades, or your social life and status. But persistent stress isn’t just bad for your physical and mental health. It may also contribute to weight gain. One study found that high stress levels were associated with a more pronounced increase in BMI.
If you’re dissatisfied with your current weight, that can have repercussions on your self-image and self-confidence. One UK study, for example, showed that obesity (and self-reported health) can negatively impact self-reported happiness, especially among women.
That said, that doesn’t mean that you’re guaranteed to feel unhappy because of your weight or that losing or gaining weight is guaranteed to make you happier, either.
Why Sleep Matters If You Want to Keep a Healthy Weight
Sleep is important for your physical and mental health in more ways than you can count on both hands. When it comes to weight management, routinely undersleeping may cause you to overeat in the mornings. It may also upset the balance between ghrelin and leptin, two hormones responsible for regulating appetite.
On top of that, catching too few Zs can also make sticking to a healthy lifestyle more difficult, especially if you don’t maintain a consistent sleep schedule. You might also struggle to find motivation to stay physically fit and stick to a balanced diet.
Of course, just sleeping enough isn’t enough to keep your weight within an ideal range. But it’s an important part of the puzzle.
4 Healthy Eating Habits for Students Who Want to Stay Fit
A balanced diet is key to maintaining a healthy weight — and it also reduces risk of conditions like heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Here’s what eating healthy means in practice (don’t worry, it’s not rocket science):
- Stick to a regular meal schedule. Avoid skipping meals or eating at odd times.
- Pay attention to what you eat. A balanced, varied diet involves fruit and vegetables, fiber (potatoes, pasta, bread), and dairy and protein (fish, eggs, and meat).
- Steer clear of certain foods. Ultraprocessed foods like mass-produced baked goods, candy, and sugary cereals are not good for you.
- Reach for healthy snacks. You don’t have to abandon snacks altogether: go for yogurt, whole-grain crackers, or proteins like nuts and seeds.
Remember: you don’t have to spend half the rent at Whole Foods to eat healthy. Oatmeal, beans, eggs, and vegetables are all affordable options for eating healthy.
Don’t Overlook Physical Activity, Too
If you want to keep your weight within the ideal range, you have to get your body moving regularly. But that’s not the only perk of staying physically active. In fact, physical activity also:
- Reduces both short-term and long-term anxiety
- Reduces the risk of depression
- Improves sleep efficiency and quality
The CDC guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week. But that doesn’t have to mean going to the gym five days a week. In fact, these four physical activity examples for students count, too:
- Taking the stairs whenever you get the chance
- Riding a bike to and from classes
- Going for a walk in between classes or when you need a break
- Playing sports with friends
In Closing
Maintaining a healthy weight isn’t about seeing a magical number on the scale. It’s simply part of a healthy lifestyle. Remember: the habits you establish now will set the course for your lifestyle way into adulthood.
Yes, we know: college students rarely have the time to worry about whether their habits are healthy. But here’s the thing: a healthy lifestyle will also help you become a better learner and a happier person overall.