Forget the Freshman 15. With the start of each new school year, college students may find their jeans fit a bit tighter.

“I definitely gained 15 pounds,” said Stephanie Valverde, 20, sophomore health education major, about the beginning of last school year. “I did a lot of stress eating.”

Teresa Leu, the Registered Dietician at the Student Health Center said students tend to gain an average of four to nine pounds.

“Students are forced to adjust to new social circles and academic challenges. Nutrition falls low on the priority list,” Leu said.

Lauren Barragan, 23, senior liberal studies major, said when school starts she doesn’t get enough sleep.

Dr. Sekou Ford, an M.D. at the Student Health Center, said when people lose sleep, levels of the hormone leptin, which regulates appetite, decrease. Tired people feel hungrier and end up eating more starchy and carb-rich foods.

“There are simple ways to prevent weight gain,” Leu said. She suggested having small meals every four hours and to bring food, like a turkey sandwich, a piece of fruit, or low-fat yogurt to munch on between classes.

Leu is available for a free nutritional consultations.

“I see the most students mid-semester once their schedules are together,” Leu said. She asked that students download and complete a nutrition intake form and a food diary from the Student Health Center Web site before their appointments.

For healthy eating on campus, Café Rosso, located between the Humanities Building and Burk Hall, and Natural Sensations, located in the Student Center, offer some of the largest menus for nutritional food.

Café Rosso has a wide selection of sandwiches, salads and soup.
Natural Sensations offers a wide selection of fruit smoothies and specialty bagels with anything on
them from hummus to spinach or tomato.

“I usually get a bagel and hummus or a fruit salad,” said Robin Styles, 23, senior creative writing major. “I like getting stuff that’s healthier, but sometimes it’s hard to know what that stuff is.”

Students can print a copy of “Good Eats on Campus,” an educational pamphlet at the Student Health Center Web site at www.sfsu.edu/~shs/services/nutrition.htm.