<p>I was curious if your kids are eating four meals a day while in college? My D is a freshman. She said that most of the freshmen who live on campus go to late night dining that is served between 8 pm and 2 am. If kids are eating four meals a day, it seems inevitable that they are going to gain some weight. When I went to a large state university in the mid 70's, the dining hall didn't serve food later at night. Is this something that most campuses are now offering?</p>
<p>My S’s apparently has something late night M-Th but he has never gone except maybe once during exams. </p>
<p>I think after a bit, even 2 meals in the cafeteria seems like too much! 
(it gets old quick!) Especially on smaller campuses where there is only one choice.</p>
<p>Bigger schools have so many options now you can probably eat any hour of the day or night you want too!</p>
<p>If you are using the meal plan, the cafeterias aren’t open late, though the weekend hours are till 9 pm. There’s a take-out place that is open till 10 pm on weekdays only that takes the meal plan. There are various other places open late, but they cost extra.</p>
<p>Back in the day my dorm had a basement grill run by students where we could get frappes (milk shakes), and bagels with cream cheese and probably other stuff, that’s what I usually ordered. Many students skip breakfast, so they may still only be getting three meals.</p>
<p>The late night dining is served in the dining hall, as well as one tex-mex fast food restaurant on campus. At the dining hall, they can get pizza, pasta, subs, sandwiches, salads, yogurt, etc. If the student has the unlimited meal plan (which is the most popular), they can eat up to 4 meals a day. They can either eat in the dining hall or at any of the 12 other dining locations on campus (i.e., Chick-fil-A).</p>
<p>I think there are around 3,500 students that live on campus. One thing to keep in mind is that this campus is not within walking distance to a “downtown” area or other places to eat. So, if students want to eat late, they either have to eat on campus or drive somewhere.</p>
<p>So far, my D says the food is pretty decent. Of course, she has only been there for about 3 weeks. My husband and I ate in the dining hall twice during the summer. We were quite impressed with the variety of food choices (numerous food stations). It was 10 times better than the awful cafeteria food we had when we went to college. She is thin and really doesn’t eat very much. She typically eats breakfast, lunch and dinner in the dining hall. Sometimes she will go to late night dining with friends but doesn’t get anything to eat. Or she may get yogurt to take back to her dorm to eat the next day.</p>
<p>My son goes to a school with 10,000 students living in the dorm. They have multiple options. They have the traditional dining halls, they have restaurants/cafes that take the meal plan, I think they can even get a pizza delivered using the meal plan. We buy the 14 meals/week plan. Last year, as a freshman, my son, who is very skinny, was having a hamburger and soft-serve ice cream at least once a day, he gained 5 lbs pretty quickly. But then he got put on Accutane, with monthly blood tests, and they found out his cholesterol was very high, so he had to change his eating habits.</p>
<p>I go to Penn.</p>
<p>I don’t think I’ve gained any body fat from college. I’ve gained some muscle from lifting, of course. In terms of eating, I generally eat three squares a day, either at the dining halls, or rarely, food carts / restaurants. I also have some protein bars in my room, and I have some assorted snacks to hold me over if I’m starving. Penn’s dining halls have sort of inconvenient hours, but there’s a Wawa within a block of my dorm, so I can always walk there if I’m absolutely starving at 1 AM. There are also restaurants that are open late, ranging in quality from McDonald’s to very, very nice places. These are the advantages of going to a large school in a major city.</p>
<p>Many of the students have simply shifted their schedules and therefore are eating late but they might not be having a real breakfast as a result and therefore are still around 3 meals plus snacks as opposed to adding a whole other meal. A lot of students aren’t exactly getting up at 0700 to have the normal breakfast. Of course it varies with the college and the student.</p>
<p>It doesn’t really matter how many meals they’re eating though - what matters is the type of food they’re eating, the quantity they’re eating, which can’t be ascertained in a meal count, and the amount of exercise they’re getting. One problem a lot of college students face is having a diet that consists of pizza, burgers, fries, shakes, sugared soft drinks, sugared/fatted up coffees, pastries, candy. They have no external controls over them any longer, namely mom and dad, so unless they regulate it themselves the freshman 15 or sometimes more are on the way.</p>
<p>UW-Madison still has an a la carte meal plan. Now students can buy as little or as much as they want at meal times, through snack bars et al and delivered. Back in my day the snack bar was jammed when the nearest library closed at ten (only one of numerous college libraries)- hot fudge sundae, etc break time. Students do not have the “all you can eat” meals, but food readily available- including the high calorie foods. The costs are “hidden” on the student card so until it needs more funds from parents they can forget about costs- but that is like at home where mom/dad keeps the pantry stocked. I do remember taking costs into consideration eons ago- no buying dorm steak dinner food, but it was still possible to eat ad lib and put on punds (ten over 4 years). Son was a runner in HS and was able to do club running in college- never gained weight. With food available from before 7 am to past? midnight and no pressure to eat at 3 meal times it may be different than at schools with 3 fixed meals plus.</p>
<p>My D did not gain any weight at all last year. She had a meal plan that allowed about 10 meals a week in one of NYU’s many dining options…and often did eat quite late when her schedule required it. She actually gave quite a few swipes away at the end of each semester. This year she has only about 7 swipes a week, plus a kitchen in her apartment dorm. She uses swipes mostly for lunch between classes, makes breakfast and some dinners at her apt. and eats out maybe 2-3 times a week - but the real important thing is WHAT she eats, not where or when. With the proximity of a gym and yoga studios, and healthy options now available, unlike the mystery meat and carb-loaded meals of the olden days, it is easier to stay trim.</p>
<p>PS she did gain 5 pounds working a a restaurant while home this summer, but used the last two weeks to exercise and get back to fighting weight!</p>
<p>DD1 is well on her way towards a negative 15 freshman year. We have began an emergency airlift of food but time to eat seems to be lacking. She’s on a roll-over 8 meals a week and eats maybe one good meal a day, breakfast either an energy bar or oatmeal, and for the other meal something quick&dirty in the dorm room (fridge/microwave) etc.</p>
<p>The ‘what’ part is critical. She frequents one of the 20-odd eateries at her college that actually has very healthy food (think Panera Bread / Chipotle / etc light stuff). Pigs out once a week with her significant other. She avoids most of the all-you-can-eat places.</p>
<p>DD1 attended Denison which required a lot of uphill walking (both ways!). She lost 10. It’s exercise…</p>
<p>For quite a few students, it is not the cafeteria hours – it’s the beer! (And wine and other alcohol). Booze is high in calories. Lots of booze is a path for an easy 10 to 15 lbs. And it’s not the sort of thing one cheerfully tells parents . . .</p>
<p>Wis75 - I remember the great ice cream - and there was a Chicago-style pizza place on State Street - by the slice, but had to be 1,000 calories a slice with all the grease. I’m from Chicago, but it was heavier duty than anything I remember growing up. Anyway, I gained a few pounds for sure. Once I cut out the pizza, I was back down to normal and even less with lots of exercise. My daughter lost weight her freshman year - didn’t like the food and very disciplined, unlike me, ate minimally until a decent meal was available.</p>
<p>I eat 5-6 meals a day, and I have gained no weight. The quality of the meals, the amount of exercise, and the portion size, are far more important than the absolute number of meals. Some people I know have gained weight; they should probably stop drinking so much.</p>
<p>I had heard recently that the freshman 15 is a myth and the real average is around 5 lbs (sorry I can’t recall the source to know if THAT is valid or not either)!</p>
<p>Here in Canada, “freshman 15” means your GPA (calculated usually by percentage), drops about 15% from highschool when you go to university :)</p>
<p>We’ve mostly visited Canadian universities and I can say without a doubt that there is a HUGE regional variation in average body size on campus. It’s really quite stunning how regional it is and I have to think its just differences in food quality.</p>