Just after parents waved goodbye to their newly enrolled college students this fall, it began. The now-independent students had their first meals in the dormitory cafeteria, and the "freshman 15" weight gain started.
An estimated 21 million students enrolled in college this fall, and 13 million of these are full-time students. College freshmen typically gain weight at a higher rate than other young adults, and the majority of that weight is packed on before November. However, the average gain is not 15 pounds, but is reported to be closer to five pounds.
Why do freshmen pack on the pounds so quickly? There are several factors at play.
A study published in January by Kandice Kapinos, Ph.D. at Abt Associates Inc., found that dorm cafeteria hours and location influenced the weight gain in females. The team found that women assigned to housing where the nearest dorm cafeteria was closed on weekends gained an average of one pound less than women assigned to dorms having cafeterias open seven days a week.
Other studies have found that with adequate education and intervention that the weight gains can be prevented. Even without interventions, there are additional factors influencing the weight gain. For example, Kapinos' team found that a closer location of a conventional grocery store reduced the rate of weight gain.
In 2011, doctors Jay Zagorsky and Patricia Smith conducted the first investigation of the "freshman 15" that utilized a nationally representative random sample. They accessed the data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth involving 7,418 participants. Their analysis found that freshmen gained 2.5 to 3.5 pounds on average, and the gain was spread over their first year of college.
However, when they compared these adults to a group on noncollege adults, they found that there was only an additional half-pound in the college students. Further they found that college-educated individuals show a moderate but steady gain in weight during and after college.
"It's worth noting that while there's this focus on weight gain among freshman, we found that 1 in 4 actually lost weight," Zagorsky said. "Students should begin developing the habit of eating healthy foods and exercising regularly. Those habits will help them throughout their lives."
