HOLIDAY weight gain in college students appears modest, with increases driven more by lean mass than fat. In a prospective observational cohort study of a US college sample, investigators assessed how body weight and body composition changed across the November to January holiday period and explored whether psychosocial factors were linked with these shifts.
Study Of Holiday Weight Gain in College Students
The study followed 47 undergraduate students who completed in-person assessments before Thanksgiving break and again after returning from the December to January holiday break. At both visits, researchers measured body weight and body composition, including lean mass and body fat percentage, alongside a set of psychosocial variables. Changes in body weight and body composition were analyzed using paired sample t-tests, while Spearman correlation coefficients and linear regression models were used to test associations between psychosocial variables and changes in the primary outcomes.
Lean Mass Gains Without Higher Body Fat
Across the cohort, students experienced a mean 1.08% increase in body weight between November and January, equivalent to an average gain of 0.74 kg. Lean mass increased by 1.49 kg on average, whereas body fat percentage did not change significantly, indicating no measurable rise in adiposity over the holiday period. Holiday weight gain in college students therefore appeared small but statistically significant, and it coincided with a more favorable body composition profile. The authors interpret the increase in lean mass without higher body fat as a potentially healthy change that could support optimal health and wellbeing in this young adult population.
Psychosocial Factors and Holiday Weight Gain
Psychosocial variables were not significantly associated with changes in body weight or body fat percentage in this sample. Within the limits of a relatively small single cohort, measured psychosocial factors did not predict who gained more or less weight during the holidays. For clinicians who counsel college aged patients about obesity and overweight, these findings provide useful context for discussions about holiday weight gain and weight management. In this group of young adults, short term holiday weight change was modest, and small increases in weight appeared to reflect beneficial shifts in body composition rather than unhealthy fat accumulation, although longer term obesity risk was not directly evaluated in this study.
Reference: Yoo HB et al. Holiday Weight Change in a US College Student Sample: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study. Obes Sci Pract. 2025;11(1):e70035.
