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So many first-year college students gain unwanted pounds that the so-called Freshman 15 is the subject of a new MTV reality show. (They’re auditioning now.)

Just because your friends are eating junk food doesn’t mean you have to join in.

But the phenomenon, say experts, is probably a misnomer. According to a 2008 study in the journal Eating Behaviors, female college students who gain weight during their first year actually gain an average of 7 pounds. That extra flab, however, usually comes with a decrease in muscle mass and physical activity, a boost in alcohol consumption, and a wholesale change in eating habits from healthy foods to those high in sugar and fat. One study found that 71 percent of freshmen and seniors failed to meet federal dietary recommendations for fruit and vegetable intake.

“College is a critical time for people to create good or not good eating habits,” says the lead researcher of the Eating Behaviors study, Sherrie Delinsky, Ph.D., a psychologist and eating disorders expert at McLean Hospital, in Belmont, Massachusetts.

Other research shows that one-third of kids are overweight to begin with. Plus, the prevalence of obesity is growing fastest among 18- to 29-year-olds — and among those with some college education. Intervention now, say experts, is key to setting up patterns for good health later in life. Here’s how to start the process.

Structure your eating habits

Nadina Bourgeois, 24, packed on 15 pounds her first year at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and added another 10 to 15 over four years. She blames her “weird” schedule for her expanding size. Read more…