Young, bright-eyed 17- and 18-year-olds leave for college excited and ready for adventure without realizing the dangers that could befall them. Many of these new collegiate students are healthy, slim, and fit. After only a short semester, however, these previously svelte students have become unhealthy and in some cases, fat.

Esti Frischling, a senior English major, experienced the effects of the “freshman 15.”

"I gained a significant amount of weight as a freshman.,” she said, “I think if someone had helped me outline an easy way to stay fit when I first arrived at this university, I might have been able to avoid all that weight gain.”

This is a story told time and time again, but according to scientific research, is actually based in fact.

While “freshman 15” may be an exaggeration, significant weight gain during the first year of college is a real phenomenon.

A study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that young adults attending college are more vulnerable to weight gain than the general population.

In the article titled “Weight Gain Prevention: Identifying Theory-Based Targets for Health Behavior Change in Young Adults,” members of the psychology department at Virginia Tech found that college students gain weight more rapidly than the general population, with an average weight gain of four to nine pounds during the first year at college.

While four pounds does not seem like a significant amount of weight, it could potentially lead to serious health problems in the future. According to the study, perpetual weight gain of more than four pounds a year over 15 years places young adults at a remarkably increased risk for heart disease.

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), 66 percent of adults in the U.S. are overweight or obese, and that percentage is only growing, in part due to the rapid weight gain that many students experience during their college years.

College students tend to pack on the pounds because of their newfound freedom and independence. Without the pressure of organized sports encouraging exercise or parents stocking the fridge with healthy food, many find it difficult to stay healthy.
Students are required to walk much more in college; however, they also participated much less in team sports, according to the “Weight Gain Prevention Study”. They sleep less, wake up later and stay up later. Students tend to skip breakfast and snack on chips and cookies in their rooms during the day. About two thirds of the students in the study reported drinking alcohol. While drinking alcohol, students often eat pizza, fast food or party snacks such as chips or sweets.

College students are about as unhealthy as you can get.

At many universities, such as the University of Maryland, College Park, there is no streamlined effort to combat this growing problem of college weight gain.

Frischling said, “I never even knew what I was eating half the time at the diner. I mean I assumed veggie burgers or salads were low in calories, but the nutritional information was never available, or if it was, I didn't know about it. I was also so busy adjusting to college life, I didn't have time to exercise."

David A. Levitsky, a professor of nutritional sciences and of psychology at Cornell, said that, “significant weight gain during the first semester of college is a real phenomenon, with breakfast and lunch at all-you-can-eat dining facilities accounting for 20 percent of the weight gain.”

The University of Maryland Dining Service does offer healthy food options. However, they are sometimes hard to pick out of the array of fatty, tempting foods.

Under the section titled “nutrition” on the Dining Services website appears an address from Sister Maureen Schrimpe, a University of Maryland dietitian.

She tells students to “eat a variety of foods in the amounts that are right for you.” She does mention that students can make smart food choices by reading the nutrition facts of menu items, however, not all menu items are included. She mentions that the

information is based on “standard serving sizes,” which are miniscule in comparison to the serving sizes dished out by the dining halls.

New college freshmen who are uneducated in areas of nutrition and fitness are essentially being set up to fail because they are not being given the knowledge to succeed.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that people get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity most days of the week. Brisk walking, jogging, and swimming are easy ways to boost heart rate and promote cardiovascular health. Exercise can also help lower blood pressure and counter stress. For women, exercise that makes the body and bones bear weight — like walking or running — may reduce the risk of osteoporosis later in life.

According to the “Weight Gain Prevention” article, physical activity was not considered a high priority among college students, “despite having ample free time, high exercise self-efficacy, positive outcome expectations for exercise, and a desire to exercise more.”

The main factor in determining whether a young adult in college exercised was social support. Students who had a partner to run with or a lifting buddy were much more likely to start an exercise routine as well as stick to one.

In order to avoid gaining the “freshman 15” or even just the “freshman 5”, it is most important to eat breakfast every day.

According to Diana Settles, the program manager of physical fitness at the Navy Environmental Health center, breakfast eaters are better able to resist junk food and their thinking ability and work performance improves. About 25 percent of Americans skip breakfast, and the rates for overweight and obese people have nearly doubled over the past decade.

Societal pressures to be healthy, fit and good-looking may be the reason why college weight gain is studied, focused on and obsessed over by incoming college freshmen.

The “freshman 15” phenomenon is somewhat of a cultural fixation. When you search “freshman 15” on Google, 208,000 results come up. On the daytime talk show, the Tyra Show, Tyra Banks focused an entire episode on girls gaining weight in college called, “I can’t stop eating junk!” Seventeen Magazine’s college edition is titled “The Freshman 15: Everything you need to know about college!” and there is even a website called freshman15.com, giving college students information on health while away at school.

With the use of the vast amount of information regarding and surrounding the “freshman 15,” college weight gain is very preventable.

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