By Rohan Gupta
Scott made a post earlier on the "freshman 15" and how and why it affects college students. Most studies have stated that the phenomenon is prevalent but they have failed to examine the behavior changes that occur as students transition from high school to college that may contribute to this problem. I will elaborate more on the previous post by Scott and I will focus on recent studies and statistics that have been made on the issue.
A Another study conducted earlier followed 159 students enrolled at an average sized university during the fall of 2005. The study measured each of the students' weight at the beginning of the semester and measured it again at the end of the semester. The researchers found the weight to only be about 3.3 pounds which in fact is not very significant. There was in fact no significant difference between the amount of weight gained by the women and the men that participated in the study. Newer study during 2009 has shown that nearly one in four freshmen (precisely 23%) will gain at least five percent of their body weight during their first semester. The average weight is actually around ten pounds. This is an increase from the weight results found from the study conducted in 2005.
When looking at the behavior of the students, one can find the reason for the notorious weight gain. Those individuals who gained at least five percent of their body weight performed less physical activity during their first semester at college than they performed in high school. They also ate and slept more than in high school. Classes during later times of the day and more frequent meals at buffet style dining facilities probably also played a major part of the weight gain.
These results should convince students to make better choices about what they eat and force them to exercise more frequently. Hopefully these students will eat less, keep away from fatty dishes, and lead an overall more regimented life.
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