DR. WALLACE: I'm a new college student this fall, and I'm quite surprised at how much of today's college life seems to center around drinking alcohol. Yes, I knew there would be students here and there who would drink alcohol, but I was totally unprepared for how many students apparently drink heavily at weekend parties on and off campus.

What do you make of this? Has drinking on college campuses always been a major problem? — Never Knew It Would Be This Widespread, via email

NEVER KNEW IT WOULD BE THIS WIDESPREAD: This subject has always been a major concern for college administrators and even high school administrators to some extent.

Interestingly, most studies I've read within the last three to five years indicate an overall downturn in the amount of drinking by college students, but that downturn is sadly relatively small when viewed against the overall prevalence of alcohol consumption by college students. For many students, alcohol consumption is considered a rite of passage once they leave home and are no longer under the scrutiny of their parents. Temptations abound on college campuses as alcohol is readily available, and peer pressure runs rampant on some campuses.

However, despite this, there has been a moderately effective pushback in the other direction led by the banning of alcohol by some national fraternities and sororities at their campus residences.

There is another interesting trend that runs through these studies. They indicate that there is rarely a middle ground in alcohol consumption by college students. Moderation exists only in small percentages; therefore a "barbell" exists within these statistics. On one end of the barbell are those students who never drink or "rarely drink." On the other end of the barbell are those students who drink often, and even frequently to excess.

I recommend that you stay on the "never or rarely" side of the barbell and that you do what you can to encourage any friends of yours who regularly live on the other end of the barbell to consider changing their ways before serious trouble befalls them.

I CAN'T HOLD ON MUCH LONGER!

DR. WALLACE: Every weekend we have a big movie night with our large family, and it's great since we all get to see each other and catch up on family news.

This year I'm a senior in high school and I'm interested in watching my weight, so it drives me crazy when my relatives that visit our home bring a ton of popcorn with them! It smells delicious, and it's smothered in salt and butter, so the scent permeates our living room during the entire movie!

I've had good willpower so far, but it's getting harder and harder each week! I eat my baby carrots and celery sticks while the others gorge on the buttery popcorn! Help! What can I do to continue to eat healthy in the face of this wave of calories that I can smell but not touch? — Seeking to Stay Slim, via email

SEEKING TO STAY SLIM: Make your own popcorn! Believe it or not, popcorn can be one of the best healthy snacks available to you, but of course there is a catch.

You must eat your popcorn dry! This means do not add any salt or butter at all to your popcorn. It should also be air popped as only 3% of the calories from air-popped, unsalted, unbuttered popcorn come from fat.

Dry, plain popcorn is quite high in healthy fiber and low in overall calories! By comparison, most people feel nuts are healthy foods and in moderation, they are. But one cup of peanuts has 32 times more calories in it than one cup of dry, plain popcorn! Stay away from the salt and butter and you can join in to enjoy "movie night" by munching "your" popcorn right alongside "theirs!"

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: marcokruse at Pixabay