Changes in Body Weight and Fat Mass of Men and Women in the First Year of College: A Study of the "Freshman 15"

Abstract

Students entering their first year of college are faced with many stresses and changes, including changes in eating and exercise behavior. A common but often undocumented myth among college students is that there is a high risk of gaining 15 pounds of weight during freshman year. The objective of this study was to measure changes in body weight and percentage of body fat among first-year college students. Using a digital scale with bio-electrical impedance, the authors measured height, weight, and percentage of body fat for a sample of students who volunteered to be weighed during a health assessment in the university dining halls. The authors sent e-mails inviting those same students to complete a second measurement in February of the academic year. Sixty-seven of the 217 students who volunteered for the health assessment agreed to undergo a second set of measurements in the spring. The mean change in body weight was 2.86 pounds (1.3 kg, SD = 4.0 kg), and the mean change in percentage of body fat was 0.7% (SD = 4.0%). For those students who gained weight only, the mean increase in body weight (as measured by body mass index, weight divided by height in kg/m2) was 6.82 pounds (3.1 +/- 2.4 kg) and percentage of body fat was 0.9 +/- 3.8%. The authors found that the first year of college is a period in which weight and fat gain may occur. The exact causes behind these changes are unclear and warrant further research to plan or improve intervention and prevention.

Nutrition of overweight and obese students

“…This is why creating a proper model of teaching about nutrition and healhy behavior at the universities we studied is an important goal of our work. It is crucial to point out that the student lifestyle, especially in the first years at university, is often unhealthy [21].…”

Peer effects and the Freshman 15: Evidence from a natural experiment

“…While the so-called "Freshman 15" is more likely to be the "Freshman 5" (Megel et al, 1994, Matvienko et al, 2001, Anderson et al, 2003, Butler et al, 2004, Levitsky et al, 2004, Levitsky et al, 2006, Hajhosseini et al, 2006, Hoffman et al, 2006, Morrow et al, 2006, Holm-Denoma et al, 2008and LloydRichardson et al, 2009, college freshmen gain weight at a greater rate than do others in the general population (Levitsky et al, 2004). Furthermore, larger prospective studies show that weight gain as a young adult tends to set the pace for weight gain well into adulthood (Truesdale et al, 2006 andLloydRichardson et al, 2009).…”

Determinants of weight gain in young women: A review of the literature

“…This paper reported the results of three trials conducted in the US and Europe, two of which were carried out for a year and the third for three years. The combined trials, which observed more than 2,300 women (aged [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35], reported modest weight gain (<2.3kg at 12 months) with large individual variation 53 .…”

“…Nine papers were allocated to one of these categories. The remaining 20 papers focussed on university populations [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45] .…”