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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 A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...
. 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 Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...
, stress, and decreased levels of
exercise Exercise or workout is physical activity that enhances or maintains fitness and overall health. It is performed for various reasons, including weight loss or maintenance, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardio ...
. Research into the subject has shown that on average, a college student gains from of weight during their first year.


Counter-argument

Despite common use of the term, a study from the
Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...
found that the average female college student gains and the average male college student gains in their first year. Additionally, the research showed that the gain was a half pound (around 200 grams) more than non-college students of the same age and that heavy drinking was the main factor for such weight increase. Another study conducted by the
National Center for Biotechnology Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is part of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is approved and funded by the government of the United States. The NCBI is lo ...
(a subsidiary of the
National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...
) found that on average, college freshmen gained . Additionally, half of the students surveyed gained weight, and 15% of the students lost weight.


Presumed causes


Dining halls

A study conducted on 60 students at
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
showed that 20% of the weight gained by the students was likely caused by the dining halls' environment.


Alcohol consumption


Nutrition

Alcohol's caloric content tend to lead to unwanted extra calories. Regular drinking may also cause certain
vitamin Vitamins are Organic compound, organic molecules (or a set of closely related molecules called vitamer, vitamers) that are essential to an organism in small quantities for proper metabolism, metabolic function. Nutrient#Essential nutrients, ...
and
mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...
deficiencies, such as: *
Folate Folate, also known as vitamin B9 and folacin, is one of the B vitamins. Manufactured folic acid, which is converted into folate by the body, is used as a dietary supplement and in food fortification as it is more stable during processing and ...
helps to create and maintain new cells. Alcohol interferes with the
intake An intake (also inlet) is an opening, structure or system through which a fluid is admitted to a space or machine as a consequence of a pressure differential between the outside and the inside. The pressure difference may be generated on the ins ...
, absorption,
transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...
, storage, and release of folate. * Vitamin B12 is required to make
DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
and maintain healthy nerve and red blood cells. Alcohol has been shown to decrease the levels of B12. *
Vitamin A Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that is an essential nutrient. The term "vitamin A" encompasses a group of chemically related organic compounds that includes retinol, retinyl esters, and several provitamin (precursor) carotenoids, most not ...
is needed for
vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...
, regulation of the
immune system The immune system is a network of biological systems that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to bacteria, as well as Tumor immunology, cancer cells, Parasitic worm, parasitic ...
,
bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...
growth,
reproduction Reproduction (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which new individual organisms – "offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents. There are two forms of reproduction: Asexual reproduction, asexual and Sexual ...
,
cell division Cell division is the process by which a parent cell (biology), cell divides into two daughter cells. Cell division usually occurs as part of a larger cell cycle in which the cell grows and replicates its chromosome(s) before dividing. In eukar ...
, and differentiation. Alcohol decreases the levels of this vitamin and increases
toxicity Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacteria, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect o ...
when alcohol is consumed in large amounts. *
Calcium Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to it ...
is needed for
blood vessel Blood vessels are the tubular structures of a circulatory system that transport blood throughout many Animal, animals’ bodies. Blood vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to most of the Tissue (biology), tissues of a Body (bi ...
and
muscle Muscle is a soft tissue, one of the four basic types of animal tissue. There are three types of muscle tissue in vertebrates: skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle. Muscle tissue gives skeletal muscles the ability to muscle contra ...
movement, for the secretions of certain
hormones A hormone (from the Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs or tissues by complex biological processes to regulate physiology and behavior. Hormones a ...
and
enzymes An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as pro ...
, and for sending messages through the
nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the complex system, highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its behavior, actions and sense, sensory information by transmitting action potential, signals to and from different parts of its body. Th ...
. Consumption of alcohol can cause a loss of calcium through urinary excretion. 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.


Foods with alcohol

According to the
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), as part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, supports and conducts biomedical and Behavioral research, behavioural research on the causes, consequences, treatment, and prevent ...
's research, people who drink the most alcohol tend to have worse eating habits than those who do not consume much alcohol. In this study, researchers compared the "
healthy eating A healthy diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients such as protein, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy. A he ...
" scores of 3,000 participants in the
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is a survey research program conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States, and ...
with their overall consumption of alcohol. They used frequency, quantity, and average daily volume to measure the alcohol consumption. 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 The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
showed a direct relationship between eating late at night (
night eating syndrome Night eating syndrome (NES) is classified as an Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED) under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5).American Psychiatric Association. (2013). ''Diagnostic and st ...
) 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.


By gender

Nicole L. Mihalopoulos and colleagues developed a study at a private university in the
Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...
. Test subjects were made up of male and female freshmen college students who lived on campus. They took an online survey to answer questions about their eating patterns, social behaviors, and weight. The purpose of this was to discover if the individuals showed signs of body image issues or
eating disorders An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that adversely affect a person's health, physical or mental health, mental health. These behaviors may include eating too much food or too little food. Types of eatin ...
. 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.


References


Bibliography

*


External links


List of causes of the Freshman 15
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060223103115/http://exercise.about.com/cs/exercisehealth/a/freshman15.htm , date=2006-02-23
University of Guelph research finds that the actual gain is less

CNN article reflecting this phenomenon
Human body weight Student culture Academic meals