Kids of a Healthier Weight are More Likely to Go to College

Teenagers today face a variety of obstacles, from drinking and drugs to gang violence and struggles at home. These obstacles can become barriers, directly affecting whether or not kids go to college. 

A new study published in the Sociology of Education has uncovered a new barrier to higher education: obesity.

Researchers collected data on a group of 11,000 7th to 12th graders from 128 schools in the United States. Results from this thirteen-year study indicated that overall, obese students have a harder time in high school than their thinner classmates, and this affects girls more than boys. 

Obese girls, on average, are 50 percent less likely to go to college than healthy weight girls.

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Sociology of Education, July 2007