Freshman 15 Weight Gain Myth Debunked

[Tiggeroshii]

Source: LA Times

....

Weight gain among freshman students is far less than 15 pounds, as a rule — more like three pounds. And it doesn’t seem to have much to do with college: Young adults who don’t go to college gain just about as much weight as those who do.

“Weight gain should not be a primary concern for students going off to college,” coauthor Jay Zagorsky of Ohio State said in a statement released by his university.

...

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-freshman-15-weight-gain-myth-debunked-20111102,0,115709.story

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Good to know...

[Rhiannon12866]

1. I gained 20 lbs. when I first went away to school and my roommate gained 30.

But it was high school, rather than college. I lost it by the time I was in college. I'm not sure if it was the food or the place... And, since we were still kids, we ate a lot of sweets back then. :(

[harmonicon]

2. I think it was about 30 for me.

I think with their "meal" plan at the dorms you had to eat about 6 things before you found one that was sort of ok, and there was always ice cream. I don't even like sweets, but after the shittest meal in the world, a bowl of ice cream seemed like a good idea.

I thought this was hilarious though: “Weight gain should not be a primary concern for students going off to college,” - is there a single person that stupid? "Oh, gosh, I'd like an education, but I look really good in these jeans."

Sometimes I'd like to be thinner, but I think I prefer being a chubby world expert in my field over being a skinny person who always wished he'd gone to college.

[No Elephants]

4. If it's any consolation,

your intelligent posts don't make your bottom look big.

[Rhiannon12866]

7. Good point! It's certainly a worthwhile trade off. LOL.

And at that age (I was 16), who worries all that much about what you're eating? I didn't and I really didn't have all that much choice at boarding school. Dinner was dinner... :shrug:

[No Elephants]

3. It may depend on which calendar year your freshman year was.

[Jankyn]

5. I lost 20 pounds...

...in the first semester. It was the first time I'd had access to fresh fruits and vegetables, not to mention balanced meals, in my life. Felt better than I ever had!

[No Elephants]

10. See Reply #3. If you went to college in the 1950's, you would have had tons of

fresh baked goods, tons of chicken with loads of mashed potatoes cooked from scratch.

Or so I am told.

Today, I think the made from scratch foods are more scarce, but schools are at least trying to provide good nutrititon, not only the most filling foods.

[AngryAmish]

6. I gained 30 lbs my first year of college

I grew an inch and a half, lifted weights like crazy and drank a ton of beer. I was young for college so really didn't have my grown-up body yet.

[beac]

9. I gained nothing my first year.

I bucked the system and gained the SOPHOMORE 15. ;) '

Took me a year after university to lose it. Pizza and beer diet = reliable source of constant college chubbiness.

[yurbud]

8. I LOST 10 pounds my first term because I lived in an apartment and ate top ramen 24/7

after I moved into the dorms, I began an upward climb that hasn't stopped since.

[JI7]

13. i thought ramen made one gain weight

unless people eat less because it's just not that good . and eat just enough to satisfy hunger.

[Brother Buzz]

11. I bet these researchers never investigated Humboldt State University

There's a weather related weight-gain phenomenon that attacks some girls, yet is not diagnosed until summer when they return to warmer regions and shed clothes. It's referred to as the Humboldt forty.

[KamaAina]

14. Weather-related? Or munchies-related?

We're talking about Humboldt, for Pete's sake. :smoke:

[truthisfreedom]

12. What? Huh?

Weight gain at college???

[Dulcinea]

15. Shouldn't college students worry about more than weight gain?

I gained & lost the same 15 pounds every year till I graduated! Pizza & beer at 3 am will do that. But it was fun!

It seems to me that weight gain shouldn't be a student's main concern. Just sayin'...

[BadgerKid]

16. I lost 10-15 because of fewer kcals.

I ended up switching to 2% milk and daily salads from having access to only whole milk and scant veggies, unless they were doused in a cream or cheese sauce.