The Freshman 15 Curse

When you go to college, your time on campus and in the classrooms help you to develop in my ways. You expand your cultural awareness. You expand your mental library. You expand your intellect, compassion, and sense of integrity. You also expand your waistline. Many college students enter the hallowed halls of their university in their youthful prime, with their bodies slim and trim after finally finishing the awkward transition from prepubescent teenager to young adult during high school. So why is it that after just a single year in college, these same students return home for summer break doughier than before?

The "Freshman 15" is a widespread myth that first year students at universities will inevitably gain approximately 15 pounds before they return home for summer break. Though this myth has not been deemed confirmed, plausible, or busted by the likes of Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, it certainly holds water regardless, according to a study conducted by Washington University in St. Louis. The study found that a monstrous 70 percent of students gained a "significant amount of weight" during their freshman and sophomore years. Though the exact measurement of what a "significant amount" is was not stated explicitly, one can only assume that it at least exceeds a 10-pound weight gain. Put in perspective, this statistic means that for every 100 students that enter college, only 30 will have kept their svelte figures by the end of sophomore year.

Diet is the biggest factor in the dramatic weight gain trend. When students enter college for the first time, they are left to fend for themselves. There are no adults lording over them to pry the microwaveable dinners and stuffed crust pizzas from their hands. Even in dining halls, where most underclassmen eat, healthy foods are far and few in between and often lose out to hamburgers, pizza, and hot dogs in terms of taste and interest. Many students do not know how to eat healthy on their own, and with the price of healthy items like fruits and vegetables costing more than unhealthy items like canned soup or the $1 menu at fast food joints, it is little wonder that first-year students end up packing on the pounds.

To combat this, students need to learn how to eat healthier as quickly as they can. This means stocking their dorms and apartments with healthy snacks, like carrot sticks, apples, yogurt, and oatmeal, rather than unhealthy fare, like potato chips and chocolates. With healthier foods more readily accessible, students will be less tempted to go on that ill-advised midnight taco run.