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The term " Freshman 15" is an expression commonly used in the United States and Canada to refer to weight gain during a student's first year in college. Although the 15 refers to a weight gain, the expression can apply to weight gain in general. In Australia and New Zealand, it is sometimes referred to as " First Year Fatties", " Fresher Spread", or " Fresher Five", the latter referring to a gain of .
Causes of this weight gain may be linked to increased alcohol intake, consumption of fat and carbohydrate-rich foods, malnutrition, stress, and decreased levels of exercise.
Research into the subject has shown that on average, a college student gains from of weight during their first year.
Another study conducted by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (a subsidiary of the National Institutes of Health) found that on average, college freshmen gained . Additionally, half of the students surveyed gained weight, and 15% of the students lost weight.
These deficiencies can lead to weight issues caused by malnutrition. Often, this is how certain cravings arise.
About one in four college students report academic consequences from drinking, including missing classes, falling behind, doing poorly on exams, and overall receiving lower grades. Students who are involved in fraternities and sororities in college tend to have the highest alcohol consumption rates.
Researchers have found that those who consumed drinks of higher alcohol strength, ate significantly more than the others and also ate more fatty and salty foods. They also found that urges to snack were much higher among drinkers.
The researchers found that as the alcohol quantity increased, the Health Index scores declined. Diet quality was the poorest among those who consumed the largest quantity of alcohol. Care packages filled with unhealthy treats, usually sent by parents, are found to be the leading cause of weight gain. Those who drank less alcohol, infrequently, had the best health index scores overall.
A study done by Jatturong R. Wichianson and colleagues at the University of Southern California showed a direct relationship between eating late at night (night eating syndrome) and stress levels among college students. They used a standardized test to measure both the levels of NES and perceived stress each student had. The results showed that students who had higher levels of stress were more likely to have NES due to their inability to adapt.
125 freshmen were eligible for testing and the average age was 18.4. The results showed that about half of the test subjects gained weight. The men gained an average of , and the women gained an average of in their freshman year. These results disproved their hypothesis that the women would have a larger weight gain than the men, but this stays consistent with other studies done on the hypothesis. Even though only 5% of the test subjects showed a weight gain of or greater, the authors of this study concluded that the freshman year in college has potential for weight gain and can even lead to obesity later in life.
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