The freshman fifteen is something that most new freshman are worried about. Where can I eat healthy? When will I find the time to work out? The problems of weight gain in freshman can be attributed to many different factors; newfound independence, all you can eat meal plans, stress, home-sickness, drinking, late night snacking, poor exercise and sleeping habits. But are all freshman doomed to put on weight, or is it a myth?
picture from: http://blogs.columbian.com/its-the-fair/2014/08/14/eating-scale/
In a study of college freshman at Cornell university, 71% of college freshman had gained weight during their first twelve weeks. “The variable that could explain most of the gain in weight was the consumption of junk foods, explaining 24% of the total variance. The next best predictor was recent dieting, explaining 9% of the remaining variance. The amount of evening snacks consumed explained another 6% of the variance, eating lunch at a restaurant explained another 5% and eating at a ‘pay for cash’ facility accounted for another 4% of the variance, as did the number of hours of sleep.” This study effectively showed that students whose eating habits changed for the worse after moving to college are the ones who gained weight.
So what happens after your freshman year? Should we all be worried about putting on a sophomore five, junior ten, or senior three? Studies of students from the beginning of their freshman year trough the end of their senior year showed that weight gained in college was typically something that carried through the years. However the average weight gain of students was closer to three pounds than the intimidating “freshman 15.” The weight gain could just be attributed to normal body growth and maturation, rather than straight fat gain because of poor eating habits. Personally I think that neither study provides enough concrete evidence to say that college freshman experience significant weight gain, ad weight gain is more likely to happen to those who do not care to look after their own health.
bmis of the same students from freshman to senior year, from the source above.
I think we all know it can be can be easy enough to go for seconds, or thirds, and head toward the ice-cream in the dining halls. And who doesn’t love some 2 am canyon pizza? But if you want to avoid the “freshman fifteen” you need to be slightly more careful in your meal choices. It is also important to get enough sleep and try to maintain a healthy exercise schedule. Eating, staying hydrated, and getting enough sleep all keep you happier, healthier and reduce stress.
The Freshmen Fifteen is talked about way too much. If you believe that you are going to gain weight, most likely you are going to let yourself eat more. Penn State is an extremely big campus. You normally walk or even bike to your classes or the places you want to go to. If you don’t make the effort to eat healthy and exercise, you will gain weight. Choose the healthy options when you go out to eat or go to the dinning commons. You can have a cookie once in a while but not late at night every night. Also, most of the weight gained by freshmen is due to alcohol consumption. Next time you pick up that drink think about how many calories you could be gaining.
I totally agree with you and the evidence that backs it up. The term “Freshmen Fifteen” is a thing, but it is more of a myth than fact. Yes, it is easy to gain weight. Like you said, eating different foods at different times can easily cause weight gain. However, I think it is more common for freshmen to gain up to 5 pounds rather than 15 pounds. I think the people who actually gain 15 pounds are the ones who are excessively eating throughout the day, not getting enough sleep, and not performing enough physical activity. There is not enough evidence to back up “Freshmen Fifteen” as a legitimate thing. Anyone is prone to gaining some weight during college anyways due to body growth and maturation. The link below talks about the term “Freshmen Fifteen” being a lie, and how the term even came about.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/06/freshman-15-weight-gain_n_3860832.html
I have found that the “Freshman Fifteen,” to be a clear exaggeration. I agree with your belief that the weight gain students do have in college somewhat has to do with the new found independence, the meal plans, the stress, the sleep patterns, but so much of that is subjective to the person. Most of the weight gain students experience at college would have occurred no matter what, college or not. This is because of the natural maturation of the human body, like you stated in your initial post. The extra factors that you talked about can add to the weight gain, but really the Freshman 15 is not Fact, and only can become Fact if a person does not take care of themselves.