College students are less likely to correctly identify their own weight status than high school students, according to a recently published study.
Researcher Roshni Dhoot says many college students, despite knowing their height and weight, couldn't properly classify themselves as normal weight, overweight or obese.
"The fact that students don't know how they should be classified is the biggest deal because if we promote healthy eating and weight loss, it only works if the students know they have a problem to begin with," Dhoot says. "If they don't know they have a problem, then there's no way that they're going to seek a solution."
Dhoot's research is similar to the kind you would expect to find in a major academic publication. It was completed with fellow researcher Vishnu Alse, abided by traditional research standards and went through a rigorous editorial process.
But Dhoot's research was published in the Indiana University Journal of Undergraduate Research, or IUJUR, because Dhoot is an incoming IU senior studying neuroscience.
This is the first year the IUJUR has been published, as a way to encourage undergraduates to complete meaningful research projects. Dhoot says research experience helps bolster students' resumes, especially if it gets published.
"To be able to publish even on a university level is a really big opportunity and I think interests students more in going into research," Dhoot says.
Dhoot began her undergraduate research career in April of her freshman year when she contributed to research done by the IU School of Public Health's Center for Sexual Health Promotion.
Kristie Hsu, also an incoming senior studying neuroscience, founded IUJUR in 2013 after noticing the opportunities undergraduate research journals provided students at other universities. She served as the journal's co-editor in chief for the 2014-2015 school year.
"We found it very effective in a lot of other campuses across the nation in recognizing and encouraging undergraduate research across all fields," Hsu says.
IUJUR publishes research from all IU campuses and includes studies pertaining to humanities, natural sciences, social sciences and professional schools.
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"To see your work finally come to fruition in publication is something very special and something that you can also show when you're applying to graduate school or future employers," Hsu says. "We hope that it will be a valuable tool for whatever future endeavors these student authors have."
Next year's co-editor in chief, Taylor Ballinger, an incoming senior studying psychology and English, says he hopes to establish a stronger presence at IU campuses across the state as a way to increase submissions.
"For many of IU's satellite campuses, they don't have graduate students so they have a lot more resources and faculty able to devote more time to undergraduate research, which results in really outstanding projects that we would like to see," Ballinger says.
