Question

Claim: The freshmen 15 is real

Comments

This is exactly how I feel. Everyone's metabolism and how they break down food or alcohol is different. Just because some people gain weight when they get to college doesn't mean it's inevitable for every single student. Some people, such as myself, have even lost weight from walking everywhere and the REC center being a 2-minute walk away. It really depends on what you're eating and your activity level.

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I liked your explanation of why it isn't real but I think you could've included some sources to why it isn't real to backup your claim. I found once source by ASU Wellness that backups your claim to which I agree with.

Source: https://wellness.asu.edu/blog/freshman-15-fact-fiction#:~:text=However%2C%20college%20newbies%20may%20rest,freshman%20year%2C%20nowhere%20near%2015.

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This is false. The freshman 15 Is a concept created in the 80s in the U.S. to claim that every freshman entering college will gain 15 pounds in their first year. While many people do gain weight, a government study shows that people can also loose weight and most people stayed the same weight their first year in college. A decent amount of people do gain weight, men more that women, in their freshman year but the average wright gained is not 15 pounds but closer to 5. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2532948/

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The freshmen 15 is a concept that has no real basis except for less healthy eating habits, more alcohol, and perhaps less physical exercise that comes with being in college.  There have been multiple studies on this and none can completely agree on one answer and it shows its completely more on the person rather then an inevitability of a person gaining 15 lbs in college.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2532948/

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You bring up a valid point. It varies from person to person.

Answer 1

The freshman 15 is a myth. There was a study done by the National Center for Biotechnology Information that found an average student gains about 2.7 pounds during their first year of college, not 15 pounds. Additionally, 15% of the students lost weight while 33% had no change in their weight. The term Freshman 15 was started by a Seventeen magazine in 1989 and caught on quickly in the United States even though there was no evidence that it was true. A lot of people in their late teenage years tend to gain weight, whether they are in high school or college because they are not fully developed yet. 

https://wellness.asu.edu/blog/freshman-15-fact-fiction#:~:text=However%2C%20college%20newbies%20may%20rest,freshman%20year%2C%20nowhere%20near%2015. 

Answer 2

There was a study done by the National Center for Biotechnology Information that found that on average students gain around 2.7 pounds during their freshman year. I found this evidence on the Arizona State University wellness website. I personally gained 20 pounds during my freshman year and that could be due to a lot of different factors such as eating a lot more, not exercising, and drinking a lot more. So, it depends on the type of person and what they do with their life, but it definitely is not true that everyone gains 15 pounds in their freshman year of college.

https://wellness.asu.edu/blog/freshman-15-fact-fiction#:~:text=However%2C%20college%20newbies%20may%20rest,freshman%20year%2C%20nowhere%20near%2015.

Answer 3

The concept of gaining "The Freshman 15" was talked about at the end of high school. I had ben told that it was inevitable and that it happens to almost everyone. I started to panic and tried to think of how this could be possible. However, this is not always true. I was told that the unlimited, buffet style meals, low activity levels, and the constant late night pizzas were the cause of this weight gain. However, in my own experience, I noticed that the dining hall food got old quickly and the unlimited buffet seemed unappealing. I had always been active so it was never a problem for me to get enough exercise, however, even if you do not exercise consistently, most people walked everywhere so it was easy to get something in. Also this article I found talks about how a study at Auburn University found that only 5% of people gained 15 pounds after their freshman year. In reality, the majority of people gained about half that. While weight gain does happen, it is not nearly 15 pounds.  

https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/diet-myth-or-truth-the-freshman-15

Answer 4

The "freshman 15" is actually a myth. While it's fairly common for college freshmen to gain wait during their first year in school, it's very rarely as many as 15 pounds. WebMD cited a study from Auburn University found that only 5% of the school's freshmen gained 15 pounds their first year, concluded overall across a multitude of studies that in reality, average weight gain for college freshmen is 4-10 pounds. In general, students have full control over their weight gain through their eating habits, and any weight gain at all is not something that occurs automatically; it comes as a result of college dining halls and a complete shift in eating habits among students.

Rating: False, Misinformation

Diet Myth or Truth: The Freshman 15 (webmd.com)

Answer 5

The claim that the "Freshman 15 is real", is a widespread phenomenon that is largely a myth, as shown by the research from the NIH article. In the random sample study conducted by NCHA, with a group of 582 freshman that were surveyed, they suggested while weight gain is common among college freshman, it is not as dramatic as gaining 15 pounds, as commonly believed. Instead, the average weight gain is closer to 2.7 pounds. Contributing factors in include changes in eating habits, frequent snacking, larger meal portions, and decreased activity. Fascinatingly, NIH reported there was no relationship between weight change and race or ethnicity and that males tend to gain more weight compared to women, but gaining 15 pounds is an exagerration. To ensure the validity of this claim, I cross-checked by looking up similar studies, and I came across "The Freshman 15 is a Dangerous Myth" from U.S. News. They stated that "reserach suggests the average amount of weight gained is around 2-5 pounds," reinforcing the idea that the idea of freshman 15 is exagerrated and isn't the case for every single college student. These findings show that weight gain is moderate and various from person to person and is based on individual lifestyle choices. 

https://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/articles/the-freshman-15-is-a-dangerous-myth

Answer 6

The claim that freshman 15 is real is just a conceptualized myth that college students have created to explain the weight gain many incoming freshman experience in their first year of college. The idea that it applies to all freshman isn’t true. In an article by ASU wellness, they reference a study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information. This study found that on average, “students gain around 2.7 pounds during their freshman year, nowhere near 15. In fact, 15 percent of students in the study lost weight during the year, while 33 percent of students experienced no change in weight at all.” So while it is common to gain a few pounds while adjusting to a new college lifestyle, everybody reacts to the change differently and it is just likely to lose weight as well. An article by Children’s Minnesota states the different aspects and causes of weight gain for freshman in college. “College is also a time of change, and the stress of acclimating to school can trigger overeating. People sometimes eat in response to anxiety, homesickness, sadness, or stress, and all of these can be part of adapting to being away at school.” College offers a new sense of freedom and with that freedom comes constant temptations. In the dining hall, you are free to eat whatever you want and however much you want. These choices vary from person to person and that is why we cannot make the claim that freshman 15 is applicable to every freshman. While it may be true for some, there is not enough evidence to show it will affect everyone. It is merely a suggested claim. 

https://wellness.asu.edu/blog/freshman-15-fact-fiction

https://www.childrensmn.org/educationmaterials/teens/article/9255/beating-the-freshman-15/#:~:text=In%20addition%2C%20you%20may%20not,to%20being%20away%20at%20school.

Answer 7

This claim is false. Although there are cases where college freshman gain weight, studies have shown that the average weight gain for college freshman was around 2.7 pounds. In another study done by Auburn University, it was recorded students gained an average of 4 pounds rather than the 15 and that women actually lose weight rather than gain.

During my first year of college, I also lost weight rather than gained weight due to my lifestyle and schedule. So in the case of Freshman 15, it varies from student to student, which means this case is false and generalizes a class and their experience. 

Sources

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2532948/

College Freshmen Weight Gain: Residency Effects - AUETDAUETD, Auburnhttps://auetd.auburn.edu › handle

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7746970/#osp4445-sec-0003

Answer 8

I disagree with this claim; no evidence was provided to support the freshman 15 is real. In fact, freshman 15 is a myth created years ago. People have to realized that most freshman are young adults where their bodies are still developing. Maybe some don't gain weight and instead lose weight due to their living environment. Another thing to keep in mind, weight gain can happen for a variety of reasons such as stress eating, lifestyle choices, health conditions, etc. The article I provided below speaks more about this myth and with the data they listed the truth of the possibility of weight changes with college students overall. 

Freshman 15: Fact or Fiction

Answer 9

This claim is not true or false about the freshman 15 for college students. This is an opinion that could be true for some college students, although it is not a fact that it will happen to everyone. According to the National Institute of Health, they did a study on participants and saw a 2.7lbs average weight gain. In this online survey conducted, they used participants that were unmarried and from a private university in the northeastern United States. This is interesting to point out because there could be other social factors going on at other universities around the country to cause this weight gain. Also, they pointed out that 15% of their online participants lost weight, and overall half the participants gained weight. This statement of the freshman 15 can not be proven true or false given that many social impacts and behaviors could cause weight gain, along where you attend university, and lifestyle choices made. It would be difficult to narrow down college students as a whole with many different factors of influence. 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2532948/

Answer 10

The “Freshman 15” is a widely held belief that first-year college students gain 15 pounds due to lifestyle changes, but research shows this claim is Largely exaggerated. While some students do gain weight, the average is much lower than 15 pounds, and multiple factors contribute to the variation. According to a study by the National Library of Medicine, a majority of college freshman gain weight, but the iconic "freshman 15" is uncommon. Of course, weight gain depends on the person, but on a broader scale, this is false.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2532948/