Most college students (80%) report using Web-based social networks (eg, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter). Nearly all (99%) college students regularly use the Internet to access information and socialize with others via nonmobile and mobile devices, especially through Web-based social media platforms. Technology represents a particularly attractive and scalable platform for behavioral weight gain prevention interventions in college students. Behavioral interventions can address these topics and thus potentially attenuate adverse weight gain. Lifestyle behaviors such as physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, poor sleep habits, and inadequate stress management have been linked to weight gain. Weight gain during young adulthood is associated with an increased risk of chronic disease and mortality in older adulthood. Although both men and women are vulnerable to weight gain across each year of college, freshmen are at the highest risk for the greatest weight increases. Over one-third of college students were overweight or obese in 2016. It is well established that weight gain and the onset of obesity are common in college students. JMIR Public Health Surveill 2017 3(4):e71 These preliminary findings offer a foundation to build upon when it comes to future descriptive investigations focused on behavioral weight gain prevention among college freshmen in the digital age. Facebook was preferred by the second greatest proportion of students (40%, 20/50).Ĭonclusions: Most college freshmen have concerns about an array of weight gain prevention topics and are generally open to the possibility of receiving eHealth interventions designed to address their concerns, preferably via email compared with popular social media platforms. Email was also the most frequently cited preferred eHealth delivery platform, with 86% (43/50) of students selecting it. Email was the most frequently used electronic platform, with 96% (48/50) of students reporting current use of it. The proportion of students who reported interest in eHealth promotion programs targeting these topics was also generally high (ranging from 52% for stress management to 70% for eating a healthy diet and staying physically active). Results: A considerable proportion of the freshmen sample expressed concern about weight gain (74%, 37/50) and both traditional (healthy diet: 86%, 43/50 physical activity: 64%, 32/50) and less frequently addressed (stress: 82%, 41/50 sleep: 74%, 37/50 anxiety and depression: 60%, 30/50) associated topics within the context of behavioral weight gain prevention. Data on weight gain prevention-related concerns and corresponding interest in eHealth programs targeting topics of potential concern, as well as preferred program delivery medium and current technology use were gathered and analyzed using descriptive statistics.
Methods: Web-based surveys that addressed college freshmen students’ (convenience sample of N=50) perspectives on weight gain prevention were administered at the beginning and end of the fall 2015 semester as part of a longitudinal investigation of health-related issues and experiences in first semester college freshmen. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess college freshmen students’ concern about weight gain and associated topics, as well as their interest in and delivery medium preferences for eHealth programs focused on these topics. Yet, few of these interventions are informed by college students’ perspectives on weight gain prevention and related lifestyle behaviors. Weight gain prevention programs that harness the appeal and widespread reach of Web-based technologies (electronic health or eHealth) are increasingly being evaluated in college students. Technology offers an attractive and scalable way to deliver behavioral weight gain prevention interventions for this population. JMIR Perioperative Medicine 50 articlesĪrnold School of Public Health, University of South CarolinaĮmail: College freshmen are highly vulnerable to experiencing weight gain, and this phenomenon is associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases and mortality in older adulthood.JMIR Biomedical Engineering 52 articles.Journal of Participatory Medicine 62 articles.JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies 143 articles.JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting 166 articles.Interactive Journal of Medical Research 218 articles.JMIR Public Health and Surveillance 819 articles.Journal of Medical Internet Research 6261 articles.