Jackson Free Press

For many freshmen, something happens when they're not looking, but it surely gets noticed on that first trip home, four to six weeks after classes start. Little sis says, "Hey, now that that cute skirt's too tight for you, can I have it?" Yep. The first evidence of the dreaded "Freshman 15" has settled in, maybe forever. A Cornell University study mentioned at PreventDisease.com found that the 60 college freshmen studied gained an average of four pounds during the first 12 weeks of school—that's 11 times more than is typical for 17- and 18-year-olds. Their eating habits proved to be the biggest culprit—breakfast and lunch at all-you-can eat joints resulted in 20 percent of the new pounds. Overall, they took in an average of 174 more calories per day.

Do not despair. With proper preparation, planning and perseverance, college-bound teens can create a successful campaign to keep the pounds off.

• Eat a healthy balanced diet. This doesn't mean a stack of Twinkies across the scales from a bag of party mix. It means food from the nationally recognized five food groups—grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy and meats and/or protein-based foods. Always, always eat breakfast.

• Think about the size of your portions. When you go out to eat, do not, absolutely do not eat all-you-can-eat at those joints. If you feel like you're not getting your money's worth, then find somewhere less expensive that serves smaller portions or that will let you share an entree with a friend. If you're eating in your dorm, get yourself a cute smaller plate to use—filling it up won't pile the pounds onto your bod.

• Speaking of that dorm room—shop for healthy snacks only. Some fruit, a bit of goat cheese (if you've got a mini-fridge), and a croissant make a filling snack and won't hurt you weight-wise. If you're in a big hurry in the mornings, have some yogurt in that mini-fridge—scarf it down just before your first class of the day. If you've got to have salt, stick with pretzels. But most of all, don't overdo it late at night. Going to sleep full of calories is a no-no, no matter your age.

• College for some means the first chance to go out and have a beer. First of all, you've got to be the legal age to drink, which means you shouldn't be having that beer until much later in your colleger career. Second of all, beer is fattening—they don't call it a beer belly for nothing. And third of all, don't even think about drinking and driving. Enough said.

• What you should be drinking is water. Lots and lots of water. Bottled water isn't that expensive; you can have it nice and cool in that mini-fridge, just waiting for you to grab on the way to class or when you return from a hot walk across campus. Or if you've run out of bottles, don't forget the water fountain.

• Think about getting to bed at a reasonable time. When you're exhausted, you're more likely to eat the wrong things, thinking you need that chocolate or pizza or that caffeine boost to keep you going. You don't. You need some rest.

• Schedule some sort of exercise on a regular basis. It could be something as simple as always walking to class. If you commute, park as far away as possible from your classes. Sign up for belly-dancing or join a group that plays Frisbee golf. Get creative and take care of your ownself.