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Help Your Teenager Get in Shape Before College

By Anne Watkins

Going to college gives kids a chance to start fresh on a new campus with a whole new group of peers. For a high school senior or recent grad, the months before going away to a university are a time to take stock, reevaluate one's personal style and start preparing for the new social life that awaits them.

For many kids, this means not only getting new clothes and preparing for dorm life, but also losing weight.

If you want to help your teenager get in shape before college, or if you're a soon-to-be university freshman yourself, here are some ways to get in shape before you or your teen start roaming the university halls:

Make it a family effort. If your teenager has fallen out of shape, there's a good chance that there are other family members who need to rethink their diet and exercise practices.

Don't focus all of your efforts on the teenager in the household. Involve yourself, your spouse and any other children in all of your plans. Some family members may not like being dragged into this, but it's better for everyone in the long run.

Don't take your child's word for it. As you probably already know, kids in their late teens are inherently rebellious. They may even rebel against things just for the sake of rebellion. So you may find your teenager putting up some resistance against your health and fitness efforts.

But don't take this at face value. In fact, if your child is unhealthy or overweight, there's no doubt that they want to get in shape.

Remember that any negativity expressed regarding your efforts is just the rebellious teen learning to assert his or her individuality. It doesn't mean that your ideas are bad, or that your plan won't work. As the big transition comes closer, you'll probably notice your child becoming more and more cooperative.

Don't procrastinate. At the end of high school, kids have a lot on their minds, and they are often under pressure with regard to finishing school and preparing for the future. Under these circumstances, it's easy to put health and fitness on the backburner, especially with that three-month summer break coming up.

But depending on your child's current state of fitness, getting in shape may realistically require between 6 and 12 months. Sure, kids can usually get in shape faster than adults can, but doing it in a steady, planned way is healthiest. About one year before college, take your child to the doctor to evaluate his or her state of health, and start making changes accordingly.

Lose weight naturally. During the crunch months leading up to the big move, many teens are tempted to turn to things like diet pills to help them get in shape quickly. This is one reason why it's so important to start as early as possible.

Diet pills can cause all kinds of harmful side effects, and they can also get your child into bad substance-related habits -- which is very risky when he or she is going to be going off to college soon.

Avoid these as much as possible, and base all your efforts purely on good eating habits and exercise. It's true that time is of the essence, but so is health, and it's important to encourage your child to develop long-term, sustainable health habits that they can take into adulthood.

Instill good dietary habits. It's no secret that the freshman year in college is, for many young people, one of the unhealthiest years in life. Kids are on their own for the first time, and it takes them this first year to adjust. They're not used to feeding themselves, so they eat more unhealthy foods, they eat fewer fruits and vegetables, they neglect exercise, and they may even overindulge in drugs or alcohol.

But it doesn't have to be this way. College freshmen who come from households that place high value on good eating and exercise are much more likely to carry these good attitudes over to their campus life.

Expand your teen's exercise knowledge. The months before college may be the last opportunity you'll ever have to teach your child about the healthiest ways to get a balanced exercise regime. If your teen goes away to college without this knowledge, it may be difficult to ever learn.

Take this opportunity to teach your teen about the importance of getting both cardiovascular and strength training exercise, and emphasize the fact that exercise needs to be an essential, daily part of one's lifestyle, not just an occasional hobby.

Refresh your child's health on vacation. Parents are often startled to see how much their college freshman's health declines over the first year. The Freshman 15 is no myth -- for many kids, it just comes with being independent for the first time -- and many parents make the mistake of contributing to this during winter and summer breaks.

After all, you haven't been able to feed your child in months, so you may feel the need to make up for lost time by making lots of large meals and filling your cupboards and refrigerator with snacks and soft drinks.

But this is the wrong approach. Of course, it's great to have some robust family meals while your kid is home from college, but it's also a good idea to reinforce positive diet and fitness habits during this time. Plan some family outings that will help your college student get some exercise, serve healthy meals rich in nutrition and keep only healthy snacks in the house.

Consider a weight loss camp. Going to a summer camp may not be what your 17- or 18-year-old child had in mind for their last proper summer before adulthood. But if your teen has 20 or more pounds to lose and only three or four months before college begins, there are teen weight loss camps that help teens to lose weight while learning healthy lifestyle habits they can use throughout college.