Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Change in eating and body related behaviors during the first year of university

  • Brief Report
  • Published:
Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Significant changes in BMI, disordered eating, and body image dissatisfaction occur during the first year of university. However, previous research has not yet isolated the key factors that lead to these changes. This study sought to add to the body of research in this area by investigating students’ eating attitudes, behaviors, body image, and weight at the beginning and the end of the first year of university. Participants were initially 64 male and female university students from two universities: one rural and one urban. Twenty-eight percent of the participants completed assessments at two time points. These included a series of questionnaires designed to measure disordered eating, body image dissatisfaction and weight. These changes were different for males and females. Substantial changes in eating behaviors, attitudes, body image and BMI occur during the first year of university. Concrete knowledge about these changes might help students adapt to university life.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Hedley AA, Ogden CL, Clifford JL, et al. Prevalence of overweight and obesity among US children, adolescents, and adults, 1999–2002. J Am Med Assoc 2004; 291: 2847–50. doi:10.1001/jama.291.23.2847

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. National Center for Health Statistics. Prevalence of overweight and obesity among adults: United States, 1999. Retrieved January 28, 2009= from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/obese/obse99tab2. htm

    Google Scholar 

  3. Mulholland AM, Mintz LB. Prevalence of eating disorders among African American women. J Counsel Psychol 2001; 48: 111–6. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.48.1.111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Mintz LB, O’Halloran MS, Mulholland AM, et al. Questionnaire for eating disorder diagnoses: Reliability and validity of operationalizing DSM-IV crieteria into a self-report format. J Counsel Psychol 1997; 44: 63–79. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.44.1.63

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. French SA, Jeffery RW. Consequences of dieting to lose weight: Effects on physical and mental health. Health Psychol 1994; 13: 195–212. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.13.3.195

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Mintz LB, Betz NE. Sex-differences in the nature, realm, and correlates of body image. Sex Roles 1986; 15: 185–95. doi:10.1007/BF00287483

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Timko CA, Perone J, Crossfield A. Are you currently on a diet? what respondents mean when they say “yes”. Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention 2006; 14: 157–66. doi: 10.1080/10640260500536300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Butler SM, Black DR, Blue CL, et al. Change in diet, physical activity, and body weight in female college freshman. Am J Health Behav 2004; 28: 24–32.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Anderson DA, Shapiro JR, Lundgren JD. The freshman year of college as a critical period for weight gain: An initial evaluation. Eating Behaviors 2003; 4: 363–7. doi:10.1016/S1471-0153(03)00030-8

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Lowe MR, Annunziato RA, Markowitz JT, et al. Multiple types of dieting prospectively predict weight gain during the freshman year of college. Appetite 2006; 47: 83–90. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2006.03.160

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Ackard DM, Croll JK, Kearney-Cooke A. Dieting frequency among college females: Association with disordered eating, body image, and related psychological problems. J Psychosom Res 2002; 52: 129–36. doi:10.1016/S0022-3999(01)00269-0

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Timko CA, Perone J. Rigid and Flexible Control of Eating Behavior and their relationship to dieting status. J Eat Weight Disord/Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia, and Obesity 2006; 11: e90–5.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Drapeau V, Provencher V, Lemieux S, et al. Do 6-yr changes in eating behaviors predict changes in body weight? Results from the Quebec Family Study. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2003; 27: 808-14. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0802303

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Klesges RC, Isbell TR, Klesges LM. Relationship between dietary restraint, energy intake, physical activity, and body weight: A prospective analysis. J Abnorm Psychol 1992; 101: 668–74. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.101.4.668

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Cooley E, Toray T. Disordered eating in college freshman women: A prospective study. J Am Coll Health 2001; 49: 229–35.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Economos CD, Hildebrandt ML, Hyatt RR. College freshman stress and weight change: Differences by gender. Am J Health Behav 2008; 32: 16–25.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Hodge CN, Jackson LA, Sullivan LA. The freshman 15-facts and fantasies about weight-gain in college women. Psychology of Women Quarterly 1993; 17: 119–26. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1993.tb00680.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Hoffman DJ, Policastro P, Quick V, et al. Changes in body weight and fat mass of men and women in the first year of college: A study of the “freshman 15.” J Am Coll Health 2006; 55: 41–5. doi:10.3200/JACH.55.1.41-46

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Holm-Denoma JM, Joiner TE Jr, Vohs KD, et al. The “freshman fifteen” (the “freshman five” actually): Predictors and possible explanations. Health Psychol 2008; 27: S3–9. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.27.1.S3

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Levitsky DA, Halbmaier CA, Mrdjenovic G. The freshman weight gain: A model for the study of the epidemic of obesity. Int J Obes 2004; 28: 1435–42. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0802776

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Pliner P, Saunders T. Vulnerability to freshman weight gain as a function of dietary restraint and residence. Physiol Behav 2008; 93: 76–82. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2007.07.017

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Hovell MF, Mewborn CR, Randle Y, et al. Risk of excess weight gain in university women: A three-year community controlled analysis, Addict Behav 1985; 10: 15–28. doi:10.1016/0306-4603(85)90049-8

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Delinsky SS, Wilson GT. Weight gain, dietary restraint, and disordered eating in the freshman year of college. Eat Behav 2008; 9: 82–90. doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2007.06.001

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Striegel-Moore RH, Silberstein LR, Frensch P, et al. A prospective study of disordered eating among college students. Int J Eat Disord 1989; 8: 499–509. doi:10.1002/1098-108X(198909)8:5<499::AIDEAT2260080502>3.0.CO;2-A

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Vohs KD, Heatherton TF, Herrin M. Disordered eating and the transition to college: A prospective study. Int J Eat Disord 2001; 29: 280–8. doi:10.1002/eat.1019

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Thompson JK, Heinberg LJ, Altabe M, et al. Exacting beauty: Theory, assessment, and treatment of body image disturbance. Washington, DC, US, American Psychological Association, 1999. doi:10.1037/10312-000

    Book  Google Scholar 

  27. Cooper PJ, Taylor BS, Cooper Z, et al. The development and validation of the body shape questionnaire. Int J Eat Disord 1987; 6: 485–94. doi:10.1002/1098-108X(198707)6:4<485::AID-EAT2260060405>3.0.CO;2-O

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Garner DM, Olmstead MP, Bohr Y, et al. The eating attitudes test: psychometric features and clinical correlates. Psychol Med 1982; 12: 871–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Lowe MR, Butryn ML, Didie ER, et al. The power of food scale: A new measure of the psychological influence of the food environment. Appetite 2009; 53: 114–8. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2009.05.016

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Stunkard AJ, Messick S. The three-factor eating questionnaire to measure dietary restraint, disinhibition and hunger. J Psychosom Res 1985; 29: 71–83. doi:10.1016/0022-3999(85)90010-8

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Thompson JK, van den Berg P, Roehrig M, et al. The sociocultural attitudes towards appearance scale-3 (SATAQ-3): Development and validation. Int J Eat Disord 2004; 35: 293–304. doi:10.1002/eat.10257

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    C. A. Timko & A. Juarascio

  2. Department of Psychology, St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY, USA

    K. Mooney

Authors
  1. C. A. Timko
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. K. Mooney
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. A. Juarascio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to C. A. Timko.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Timko, C.A., Mooney, K. & Juarascio, A. Change in eating and body related behaviors during the first year of university. Eat Weight Disord 15, e93–e97 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03325286

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03325286

Keywords

Search

Navigation