Freshman Fifteen
"Freshman fifteen" is an expression used in the United States to describe the belief that students gain weight—15 pounds or 6.8 kilograms—during their first year at college or university. Recent studies have shown this to be a myth with most freshman gaining significantly less than 15 pounds.
How It's Used
"'Two things really stand out [about the eating habits of freshman college students],' says Christina Economos, assistant professor of nutrition at the Tufts University School of Nutrition Science and Policy. 'Fruit and vegetable consumption goes down,' and 'the level of physical activity decreases.' Economos is principal investigator of the Longitudinal Health Study at Tufts, an ongoing research project that is tracking the eating and other lifestyle habits of hundreds of students from senior year of high school through senior year of college.
"The decrease in eating produce and getting exercise contributes to a third finding, Economos notes: 'an increase in body weight: five pounds for women, three pounds for men.'
"Okay, it's not the dreaded 'freshman 15' often referred to as the expected first-year-away weight gain. But the weight and vegetable drop is only part of the problem." —Lawrence Lindner, "Eating Right: The 'Freshman 15,' Recalculated: The Feared Benchmark May Exaggerate Weight Gain, but College Students do Fail to Eat Smart," The Washington Post, September 12, 2000, p. Z09. "From my vantage point as both a distant high school and college graduate and, more importantly, as someone who has made plenty of mistakes, I have some less poetic but more practical advice to offer their generation as they head away from their safe harbors.
"Start the day with breakfast. End it with dessert.
"Exercise every day (see 'dessert,' above). Make it a part of your life. Smile while you're running or biking or swimming. It will lighten the task and disconcert others.
"Beware the 'Freshman 15.' It's a lot easier to keep weight off in the first place than to take it off later." —Bella English, "Do As I Say, and Please Call," The Boston Globe, May 30, 2004. "The Freshman 15, a term coined to describe the extra pounds that many college students pack on in their first year away from home, has lost some weight.
"New research out Sunday shows that the newcomers on campus only gain a little more than half that amount. Call it the Freshman 8." —Nanci Hellmich, "Freshman 15 down to just 8: The bad news is, those pounds gained at college can be hard to shake," USA Today, October 23, 2006. “Michelle Provencal, 18, said she hopes her bike will help her avoid a dreaded side effect of being a college freshman. 'Maybe instead of gaining the freshman 15 I’ll lose it,' Ms. Provencal said.” —Katie Zezima, “With Free Bikes, Challenging Car Culture on Campus,” The New York Times, October 20, 2008. "...several recent studies have found that college freshman do put on a few pounds, but far less than the dreaded 15, which for decades have been used to describe the phenomenon of weight gain among first-year students. A University of Guelph study conducted two years ago – the only one to look at the phenomenon in Canada – found that women gained an average of 5 pounds in their first year, while men gained about seven. Other U.S. studies found the average weight gain was closer to 2 pounds.
"Experts and students say there has been a cultural shift in the way young adults look at food. Students are leaving home more educated than ever about healthy food choices. Many have benefited from the healthy food programs and junk-food bans that have been infiltrating elementary and high schools across the country." —Hayley Mick, "The Myth of the Freshman 15: It's more like two, five or seven at most, studies say. Students are no longer rejoicing in their new-found freedom with a steady diet of pizza, bagels and beer. Instead, they're hitting the gym and using their meal plans on bottled water and salads," The Globe and Mail, August 27, 2009.
Also Known As (AKA)
Freshman 15 Links Beyond eAlmanac
Wikipedia article on Freshman Fifteen
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