College students gain new muscle, not fat during the holiday season

With the holidays behind us, many Americans are seeing the numbers on the scale go up a pound or two. In fact, data shows that many American midlife and older adults gain 1 to 1.5 pounds over the November through January holiday period. Though not harmful on its own, even a small amount of holiday weight gain in the form of fat can negatively affect health. People often fail to lose the extra weight, which leads to significant cumulative weight gain over the years and contributes to health concerns. 

Based on new research, we now know that college students gain the same amount of weight as older adults during the holiday season; however, they add new muscle not fat.

Obesity researcher Martin Binks, professor and chair of George Mason University's Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, was surprised by the findings of this breakthrough research.

The differences between college students' and older adults' weight gain highlights the importance of understanding weight and health in the context of major life stages and transitions across the lifespan. At this key transitional stage of life, the influence of the holiday season is uniquely different for college students than later in adulthood. It raises so many important scientific questions about what might be driving this."

Martin Binks, professor and chair of George Mason University's Department of Nutrition and Food Studies

Binks is interested in learning more about the reasons for this difference with future studies. 

Binks has been a metabolic disease scientist and clinician for over 20 years. He has assisted thousands of patients with behavioral pharmacologic and surgical weight loss, health and wellness, and quality of life improvement. He has been chair of George Mason's Department of Nutrition and Food Studies since August 2024. This publication is the result of a study that was conducted by undergraduate students who were guided by graduate students under Binks' mentorship. "Mentoring students in conducting impactful research is at the heart of my lifelong passion and is integral to the vision of George Mason's Nutrition and Food Studies department," says Binks. 

Obesity Science & Practice published "Holiday Weight Change in a US College Student Sample: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study" in January 2025. Additional authors include Hannah B Yoo (lead author), Casen Bigham, Sharmin Akter, Alexis Brown, Shruthi Durai, and Claire Brown from Texas Tech University; Tanisha Basu from the University of Cincinnati; Tiffany Tsai from Princeton University; and Sara Kiros from the University of Oregon.