Freshman 15 Research Paper

The Freshman 15 is Real The freshman 15 is a real thing and for adolescents heading off to college, they should make sure to be cautious of their eating habits. With 142 million Americans being obese, it has become more of a problem with people of all ages, but college freshman have a history of gaining weight when they arrive at school. People speculate that the behavioral, environmental, and occupational changes cause this, along with stress, exercise habits, and the fact that food is available at all times. No matter what the cause is, gaining weight in college is a real problem. College freshman have to adjust to a new environment than they are used to. This can cause stress and anxiety for some people. Stress often leads to eating more and eating foods that are not as
healthy.
Also, if students have a hard time adjusting to college life, they may find themselves being unhappy, which could lead to drinking more and eventually gaining weight. Sometimes adjusting is extremely sad and upsetting for college freshman, which often leads to emotional eating. Exercise habits can become worse in college because students are busy and do not always have the time to worry about staying in shape. They can find themselves at class all day, studying all night, and having time to eat, but not workout. Much fewer people are student athletes in college than in high school. In high school, the teams are easier to make because it is much less competitive and more about having fun. In college, sports are intense and only a small amount of people participate in them. Therefore, these high school athletes are not getting as much exercise in college because most of them are not participating in a sport anymore, which can result in weight gain. Another cause for the freshman fifteen is the food being available at all times. College students do not have a specific time for
breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The dining halls are open and filled with food all day. Some students cannot handle this and end up eating much more than they should, just because it is there and it is available to them, which they are not used to. Although there are people who will still eat healthy and restrain from overeating, several people do not have that will power and will eat every time they pass by a dining hall. The causes of gaining the freshman fifteen are common at all colleges and universities, and students need to start eating healthier, working out more, and being conscious of their health. It is clear that the freshman fifteen is a real thing. The problems that cause this weight gain can happen at any school and that is why it is so common. Although not everyone who puts on weight in college puts on exactly fifteen pounds, it is still concerning. College students, of all people, should try to stay healthy. They are developing bad habits that could last for the rest of their lives. For people to say the freshman fifteen isn’t real is just ignorant. Of course it is. It is seen everywhere and it completely makes sense why this happens. However, it can be avoided if students have more self-discipline and make better decisions about their health. Just because food is available all the time, doesn’t mean they should always eat it and just because they are busy does not mean they shouldn’t make time for physical activity.

Works Cited http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1753-4887.2008.00143.x/full http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v28/n11/abs/0802776a.html
http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v30/n6/full/0803221a.html