Did you look a bit rounder at winter break? Many first-year students fall prey to the “Freshman 15,” gaining an average of 15 lbs.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that obesity more than doubled among 18- to 29-year-olds between 1991 and 2001, from 7% to 14.8%. Excess pounds cause joint and bone problems in young people, and adolescent obesity can trigger early-onset diabetes.

A full course load may mean freshmen spend too much time at the computer, and unwind with too much television. Add poor food choices in the cafeteria and it’s a recipe for weight gain. Here are some tips to stay fit:

• Take every opportunity to walk the campus, work out at its health center and enjoy sports and phys ed classes.

• Make wise food choices and reasonable portions. Simple carbohydrates like pasta, rice, potatoes and baked goods may seem like home cooking but won’t satisfy hunger for long. Protein-rich foods stick to the ribs, while fruits, vegetables and whole grains provide nutrients and variety.

• Remember that weight loss begins at the grocery store. Buy nutritious snacks and fix healthy meals. Forgo takeout and the microwave. Try throwing a salad together and collecting recipes for quick, healthy yet tempting meals.

When to Snack — and What to Eat
Does eating after 8 p.m. cause weight gain? The answer is no. Too many calories and too little exercise cause weight gain, say Cleveland Clinic dietitians. The American Dietetics Association reports that it’s what and how much you eat that matters.

Snacking at night usually occurs in front of the television — when we aren’t paying attention to what we’re eating. So we eat more than we should without realizing it, and if we do it consistently, we gain weight. Plus, usually by nighttime, we’ve already consumed all the calories we should for the day, so any extra are going to be stored as fat.

The ADA recommends eating small portions of healthy snacks every three to four hours. Whole-grain crackers and low-fat cheese, low-fat yogurt and fruit, whole-grain cereal and low-fat milk, or natural peanut butter and apple slices are good options. Eating snacks with both carbohydrates and protein helps the body stay fueled, the ADA says.

How to Read Food Labels
Just about every packaged food made in the U.S. has a food label indicating serving size and other nutritional information. The “Nutrition Facts” food labels are intended to give you information about the specific packaged food in question. Measurements of fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate, protein, vitamins and minerals are calculated for a “typical portion.” But reading these labels can be confusing. Below are some explanations of its components.

• Serving Size: Serving sizes are based on the amount of food people typically eat — which make the sizes realistic and easy to compare to similar foods. This may or may not be the serving amount you normally eat. It is important that you pay attention to the serving size, including the number of servings in the package and compare it to how much you actually eat. The size of the serving on the food package influences all the nutrient amounts listed on the Nutrition Facts label. For example, if a package has four servings and you eat the entire package, you quadruple the calories, fat, etc. that you have eaten.

• Calories and Calories From Fat: The number of total calories and how many of those calories come from fat are provided in this section.

• Nutrients: This section lists the amount of each nutrient in the food package for fats, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, dietary fiber and protein.

• % Daily Value: These daily values are the reference numbers that are set by the government and are based on current nutrition recommendations. Some labels list daily values for both 2,000- and 2,500-calorie diets. If you do not follow a 2,000-calorie diet, you can still use these values as a frame of reference. In addition, you can divide your daily calorie needs (e.g., 1,500) from 2,000 to come up with your % Daily Value for nutrients. For a 1,500-calorie diet, your % Daily Value goal will be based on 75% for each nutrient, not 100%. For fat, saturated fat and cholesterol, choose foods with a low % Daily Value. For total carbohydrates, dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals, try to reach your goal for each nutrient.

• Ingredients: Each product should list the ingredients on the label. They are listed from largest to smallest amount (by weight). This means a food contains the largest amount of the first ingredient and the smallest amount of the last ingredient.

• Label Claim: Another aspect of food labeling is label claims. Some food labels make claims such as “low cholesterol” or “low fat.” These claims can only be used if a food meets strict government definitions. Here are some of the meanings:

Credits: General pediatrician Genevive Falconi, M.D. — “Fighting the ‘Freshman 15’” Dietitians Terra Weston, R.D., L.D., and Peggy Zeller, R.D., L.D. — “Does Eating After 8 p.m. Cause Weight Gain?”

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