America and obesity — the two words have been linked like two curly fries drizzling with oil. America holds the infamous title as the nation with the highest percentage of obese individuals.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 31.6 percent of Americans are considered obese, as measured by the Body Mass Index, a chart which adjusts body weight for height.

College-aged students are not exempt from the statistic. Nearly 30 percent of Americans ages 18 to 44 are obese by BMI measurements. With factors such as stress, and changes in lifestyle and meal options, WSU students might have a reason to take note.

“If students allow themselves to be overweight, then doing daily chores becomes difficult,” said Boon Chew, a professor in the School of Food Science and Human Nutrition. “It definitely will affect class performance and an image issue is added on top of that.” Chew also said young people have caught up to adults in obesity in recent years.

“As you get older, you tend to accumulate more fat, so obviously your fat composition would increase,” he said. “A younger group, you wouldn’t expect to be affected. However, that group has shown alarming rates of being overweight and obesity problems.” Jessie Hunter, a registered dietician with Whitman County Public Health, said there are lots of resources, programs and tools to help students shape up.

“The problem has been the convenience of it and how it’s advertised,” she said.

Stress is one factor known to contribute to weight gain and obesity.

“Stress in general affects your body independent of what you’re eating,” Hunter said. “It makes you susceptible to weight gain.” She also said a lack of time and distraction plays a role as students seek convenience foods and lose track of time and how much food has been consumed when pre-occupied with schoolwork.

Miriam Ballejos, associate professor in the WSU Department of Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, said gender differences are involved in gaining weight. She said men and women select different foods when experiencing stress. She also said for many students, food becomes a tool to procrastinate and to suppress feelings.

Gender differences play another role in how the weight is put on.

“Females carry more weight naturally than men do,” Ballejos said. “One factor may be that females tend to be less active than males and have less muscle mass.” Chew said males are at an advantage in maintaining healthy weight because muscle mass allows for burning of excess calories.

Those familiar with fitness and nutrition recommend several techniques to students for fighting obesity and weight problems.

Ballejos said setting priorities and goals, time management and exercises such as yoga can reduce stress and thereby reduce the desire to eat. She also suggested substituting a pleasurable activity for eating and a method of setting a timer for 10 minutes whenever feeling an unnecessary desire for food because the craving could potentially subside after the time expires.

Chew mapped out a different strategy which focuses on fitness.

“When you are heavier, physical activities become harder and you become discouraged easier,” he said. “Get into a routine. If you set a routine to have a good balance then you can start moving forward. Once you get going, it will snowball in a positive way and build endurance.” Though the BMI has been used for many years to assess obesity and weight issues, its accuracy is contested.

“It’s one tool,” Hunter said. “There are some problems with it because it doesn’t take into account muscle mass. If your body is prone to muscle then you might have a higher BMI.” Ballejos said body composition is a more important measure of obesity than weight alone. She suggested that students take the body composition test at the Rec Center.