For almost any University freshman, the perceptions of campus life can seem daunting even before they move into their residence halls and step into their classrooms.
Apart from the horror stories of intolerable roommates, communal bathrooms and claustrophobic dorm rooms, concerns over the infamous “freshman 15” rumor is one warning that students are often bombarded with before they even enter college.
“I was definitely worried about it because I do have a tendency to like junk food more than healthier foods, and it’s widely available in college,” University freshman Isabelle Morgan said.@@I honestly can’t find her@@ “But I eat pretty healthy here, so it hasn’t been a big problem for me.”
According to a recent study conducted by researchers from Ohio State University and the University of Michigan-Dearborn@@http://www.umd.umich.edu/@@, Morgan and other freshman students are actually not at any higher risk of gaining weight than those people who choose not to attend college after high school. Moreover, they typically don’t even gain 15 pounds over their entire college career.@@http://www.umd.umich.edu/fullstory/article/The_Freshman_15_Myth/@@
In fact, the study found that typical female college students gained between seven to nine pounds during their time in college, while men gained between 12 to 13 pounds. The study also found that freshman women gained slightly more than three pounds, while their male counterparts gained three and a half pounds during their freshman year of college. In addition, the study noted that no more than 10 percent of college freshman gained 15 pounds, and nearly 25 percent of college freshman reported that they actually lost weight during their first year.
“I think people need to stop harping about weight gain in particular,” said Patricia King, study co-author and economics professor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn@@http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/10/31/after-student-complaints-utah-professor-denied-job@@. “Don’t worry about your weight. Worry about being fit.”
As opposed to other “freshman 15” studies that researched habits on a single college campus, King explained that the study’s data was compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, a study consisting of nearly 9,000 people nationwide, whose information was continually collected even after they left college. In the five years after a person graduates from college, the study found that the average person gained about three to four pounds each year.
“It’s not as if freshman year is this really dangerous time when obesity is likely to happen,” King said. “What’s happening is that people are just gaining a little weight every year so that it adds up to be substantial.”
Jessica Wilson, a registered dietitian at the University Health Center’s health promotion department@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=1571719@@, said the study aligns with what she typically notices in many freshman students. She said it is normal for students to change their daily routines and eating habits while in college because they have access to larger quantities of alcohol and no longer have the physical fitness requirements that high school sports demanded.
But Wilson said some people create healthier habits while they are in college. For male college students who do gain weight, Wilson explained that some of that weight may be in the form of muscle mass and height because their body had not fully matured yet. Wilson also said some students become more physically active in college because they have access to free university fitness facilities.
“I think it’s a huge myth, and I actually have some students who are deathly afraid of it and have become more restrictive with their calorie intake and are not likely meeting their nutritional needs,” Wilson said. “The greatest concern is the amount of pure fat and size talk that goes on, and the fear of gaining the ‘freshman 15’ that develops into unhealthy behaviors of skipping meals and exercising excessively.”