The rumored two weeks of autumn are whizzing by, winter is inching obnoxiously closer, and the gym is getting a little lonelier. This, of course, can only mean that the "annual storage" for winter is upon us.

No longer is the motivation of athleticism and fitness a universal goal for students. Instead, over-sized jackets and North Face's will begin to emerge and attempt to hide this extra "insulation" during the winter months. Unfortunately, you really aren't going to convince anyone, and you can't exactly hide your waistline through sweatpants for an entire season.

Yes, I know you won't be showing off your body at the HUB lawn anymore, but that doesn't mean you should wait until two weeks before spring break to attend your AB circuit. Besides, crowding the gym before you go off to Cancun doesn't exactly eliminate your winter months of inactivity.

Penn State doesn't require three credits of gym classes just to diversify your general education requirements. Penn State is among the growing number of institutions that encourage healthy and active lifestyles. An increasing number of schools, at all levels, are advocating and implementing new food and health regulations.

California has set the standard by enacting strict rules limiting the amount of calories a student consumes starting in grade school - and has even eliminated the availability of certain foods deemed "bad." Education, in all areas of life, should be taught at a young age.

I don't need to repeat the statistics that more than half of America is overweight or obese, in which kids are alarmingly included in these numbers. If anything, enacting guidelines at a young age will promote healthy, life-long commitments to appropriate food consumption and personal health.

Oh, and for those individuals who blame big business (McDonalds, Wendy's) for their "big-boned" physique, start pointing the finger elsewhere.

It's called personal responsibility. I'm sure the marketing for a double cheeseburger is lucrative, but no one can claim ignorance for the detriment of eating fast food anymore. I just hope that grease you ate last night was worth it when you can't fit into your jeans tomorrow.

And another thing: obesity affects those who actually want to take care of themselves. I don't want to fly to Italy this summer next to Bob who takes up his seat and half of mine. Nor do I want to pay an increasing amount of health care insurance because more people are affected by heart disease, diabetes and ailments that can be negated or helped through healthy eating and exercise.

Yeah, yeah, midterms are keeping you busy and it's cold outside. No one said it was going to be easy. And besides, maintaining your exercise levels during the cold months will make spring break preparation that much easier.

So go and enjoy God's gift to mankind, the treadmill, or whatever you are fond of for getting your body going. (But this doesn't mean you earned a fried chicken dinner or Ben & Jerry's ice cream. You'll be rewarded by how you feel and look).

And no, I'm not advocating a homogenous campus in which every girl is a size 2 and every guy has a 30-inch waist.

Size 4 works great too.