Buser: Obese undergrads at disadvantage

Thursday, November 5, 2009

All of us have heard about the dreaded freshman 15. But what if gaining an extra 15 pounds, or more, influenced the decision to attend college in the first place? What if it drastically effected how you felt about life overall?

Obesity does play a role in high school students’ choices to attend college, according to a study conducted by University of Texas Sociologist Robert Crosnoe. The research included an analysis of 11,000 students from 128 schools and focused on health-related behavior.

The study, featured in Time magazine, reports that obese girls are half as likely as thinner girls to continue onto college. The likelihood of college attendance for an obese girl decreases further if there are few overweight students in the classroom. Obese girls had equal odds of attending college as thin classmates at schools where overweight students made up at least 20 percent of the student body. Findings on boys show no correlation between obesity and college attendance.

One of the most important findings was the link between being young and obese and the disadvantages it causes. For overweight girls, self-rejection was 63 percent more likely and the rate of failure is 24 percent higher than girls of a normal weight. These negative psychological effects extend beyond the classroom and can affect the way individuals live their daily lives.

Similar issues with obesity apply to boys. A study done by the magazine Psychology Today of 1,000 students found that overweight boys are more likely to suffering from depression than average-weight boys.

Another study done by the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that obese people are five-and-a-half times more likely to have an impaired quality of life as compared to those of a healthy weight. They also miss almost four times as much school as thinner students, which could contribute to the academic difficulties that are said to plague obese people as a group.

If you’re reading this column, you’re likely already in college or have completed a degree. Maybe you’ve gained a few pounds since college or perhaps you’ve struggled with weight your entire life. But if you’ve never stuck with all those resolutions to hit the gym, maybe your mental health and better grades will be a big enough motivator.

The longer a person is obese, the more he or she suffers from harmful emotional effects, Sarah Mastillo, a researcher in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke Medical Center, told Psychology Today. That’s even more of a reason to switch to a healthy lifestyle if you don’t have one already.

So next time you’re thinking of grabbing a snack from a drive-thru, first consider the consequences. As yummy as those foods are, they don’t pay off in the long run, and there’s definitely no food worth sacrificing your happiness for.

— Buser is a Columbia, Ill., senior in journalism.

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