The Checkup

Health in the News and in Your Life

Fighting the Post-Grad 15?

There's plenty of information on the Web and elsewhere about fighting the Freshman 15, those pesky extra pounds that some first-year college students pack on as they adjust to dining-hall food and other exigencies of campus life.

But there's not much out there about what happens to folks' eating and exercise habits as they move from campus life to the real world. That transition can prove tricky, especially for student athletes whose sports careers are coming to a close. They get accustomed to eating a lot to fuel themselves through practices and games. But when the games end, the eating sprees often continue, and the young people wind up overweight.

-- Jennifer LaRue Huget

ricci1010 wrote:

This is me 100 percent! I'm in my first year as a post-collegiate athlete. I'm not running track . . . but I've started to run around with my friends to patios filled with fried food and beer. I'm 15 pounds heavier than when I left school last year, and my six-pack is more like a two-pack -- on a good day.

Here's one of my solutions: Ask my friends to hang out with me after work in the park where we can throw the football around and goof off, instead of at my buddy's lake house where beer is so accessible.

lobsterplacemat wrote:

It's been two years since I graduated college, and I still struggle to fit in exercise. I went from working as a waitress every night, on my feet for six hours, to sitting for eight hours a day. Thankfully, D.C. is very pedestrian-friendly.

Is 'Real Sugar' Better for You?

Snapple now offers drinks made with "real sugar," while Pepsi and Mountain Dew have launched vintage-style products featuring "natural sugar."

Most nutrition experts agree there's really little material difference between "real" or "natural" sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. They all deliver about 15 to 20 calories per teaspoon, and the body appears not to know one from the other. One more thing they have in common: Americans are consuming too much of these sweets.

-- Jennifer LaRue Huget

The readers voted:

In an online poll, about 1,800 people voted for their favorite type of cold beverage. "Unsweetened" led the pack with 34 percent of the vote, followed by "sweetened with real sugar" (24 percent), "sweetened with artificial sweetener" (20 percent) and "sweetened; I don't care with what" (4 percent). The rest said they drink only water or milk.

mstroff wrote:

I'm allergic to corn and thrilled at this new trend. It was nice to be able to splurge with some of that "new" Pepsi while on vacation.

kroshka wrote:

If you've traveled in Europe, you've likely noticed that cakes, cookies and even soft drinks are not as sweet as those in the U.S. Bake cookies at home and compare them to a store-bought version: Usually they are not nearly as sweet. It seems as though U.S. consumers' tastes are being steered toward hyper-sweetened drinks and food. Our dentists and physicians can tell us all about the consequences of this trend.