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Many college students fear of the horrifying “freshman 15”. Serval research test have been conducted whether the freshman 15 is a real thing, or not. After studies were tested, the freshman 15 is a myth. The average girl gains about 4 pounds her freshman year, while the average male gains about 3.5 pounds his freshman year.  The main factors behind weight gain freshman year consist of lack of sleep, eating diet, not working out, and alcohol intake. The transition from high school to college is a big jump for many students. Students are on their own for the first times in their life. They now don’t have parents telling them to go to sleep or saying make sure you ae eating healthy and working out. A college student has the freedom now to do whatever they want. A survey was conducted to see how many college freshmen believe freshman year people gain 15 pounds in one academic school year. Gender of the person taking the survey plays a major role in the answers given.

An article called Beating the Freshman 15, says on average students gain 3-10 pounds, but not just in their first year of college. This statistic is in the first two years of college. Weight gain in college goes hand and hand with temptations. The temptation to go get fast food, or an extra slice of pizza at the dining hall causes first year students to gain the weight. Even though colleges have many healthy eating options, the un healthy, greasy options over power the healthy options. In college, a lot of your previous habits tend to change. In high school a person may be in bed by no later than 11 P.M, while freshman year of high school, a student may be up till 2 A.M finishing their paper and assignments. Staying up late causes a person to find themselves hungrier at later times. A person should stop consuming fatty food before the time of 8 P.M. After 8, the food a person consumed is not burned off because of the lack of physical activity. In food a person intake after 8, tends to turn into fat, rather than being burned off.  

A study showed freshman gained 4 pounds in 12 weeks, the students only were eating 174 extra calories each day. This shows by just cutting out a soda for water each day, a person can easily not gain the extra four pounds in 12 weeks. There ae various ways to cut back on a diet. Switching drinks is a easy way. Instead on intaking calories through drinking, a person can easily drink water, which has zero calories and keeps a person hydrated.  A lot of students tend to gain weight in college being of the massive binge drinking. Drinking alcohol frequently can not only damage you liver, but also your weight. Beer and liquor contain a lot of calories.

Physical activity plays a major role in gaining weight in college. A lot of high school students are involved in sports, which kept them in good physical shape. When coming to college, students tend to not be involved in the sport they once were involved in. This leads to the lack of exercise. Researchers found that students who exercise at least 3  days a week were more likely to be in better physical health.

Participants: Freshman from the university of Iowa were asked to take an anonymous survey. The survey was made on google sheets. The questions of the survey consisted of questions about how they feel about the freshman 15, and their beliefs that go along with it. The questions are, “What is your gender”, “do you believe in the freshman 15”? “How often do you consume alcohol”? “How much sleep do get on the average night”? How many hours of the week do you do physical activity”? “Would you consider yourself a healthy eater”?