Packing on the Pounds
College students at Colorado State University are experiencing a significant weight gain within their first year of college. I’ve experienced this weight gain first hand by packing on seven pounds in just over two months. Three more pounds and I’ll be a part of the 20% of college students who gain 10 or more pounds during their freshman year. Pretty big accomplishment, huh? Of these 20%, just under one third of them achieved the “Freshman 15” (“Freshman 15 Statistics,” n.d.). Based just off these statistics alone, there is no doubt that weight gain is a real thing in college students. A solution must be put in place at Colorado State University to stop this weight gaining epidemic that is occurring across the country.
Many people wonder what it is about college that causes such a tremendous weight gain for students. According to Nicole Campbell, a multitude of reasons contribute to college students “packing on the pounds.” Of these reasons, diet, exercise, and stress are the overwhelming contributors to the excessive amount of weight gain (Campbell, 2013). When dealing with exercise, many students
…show more content…
Per alumni studies, students who took more physical education courses while in college were healthier seven to eleven years later than those who took fewer classes. Through this statistic, it becomes obvious that physical education matters. Staying fit not only affects your health, it also affects your education. In order to learn, we as students at Colorado State University must stay healthy. The two go hand in hand. Professor Cardinal summed it up perfectly by saying “You cannot function optimally unless you are healthy – healthy to learn and healthy to work. If we educate only the mind and neglect the body, we are doing our students a disservice” (Nierenberg,
Being overweight, eating poorly, and not exercising are becoming an epidemic in America, especially among college students. Most of the research on it states the same things, however the first research article I found speaks more to the behavior and its current affects on college students’ health. A slew of doctors and Jesse S. Morrell wrote an article about “Risk Factors Among College Men and Women” in relationship to obesity. The opening of this article stated that “an estimated 300,000 deaths each year are attributable to obesity… and young adults have experienced dramatic increases in obesity rates,” (Morrell, 2012, pg. 82). This statistic is what really got the research going and helped the researchers focus specifically on college-aged individuals. Upon diving into their research, the authors found more alarming statistics and related diseases. This included a recognizable relationship between obesity in young people and chronic disease risk, especially diabetes and cardiovascular disease (Morrell, 2012, pg. 82). In fact, CVD was the second leading cause of death in the US in that college-age group showing that our generation is at a greater risk for health problems than ever before due to our lack of exercise and healthy diets. Researchers then took to college campuses to examine students and their habits and provide risk assessments to promote healthier lifestyles and hopefully decrease the probability of CVD and DM through the metabolic syndrome system,
When I arrived here at college I was extremely disappointed with the selection of food here in the cafeteria. I frequently found myself eating only hamburgers and pizza over and over again, simply because I did not like the other choices. About four months into the school year I had do go to the doctor for a virus and when the nurse weighed me I was a little surprised by what I saw. I had gained a little over ten pounds, close enough to what some refer to as the “Freshman 15.” It is a common fear among college students that they are going to gain fifteen pounds during the course of adjusting to college life. However experts have stated that the idea of the so called “Freshman 15,” is not that accurate. Every college student is obviously
To begin, one effect of stress on college students is physical health problems. Some of these problems can include internal stomach problems, weight gain, and even weight loss. When people are stressed, they tend to focus on the stressor rather than their own health. For example, college students can experience internal stomach problems because of the amount of stress they are under. According to Doctor Michael Craig Miller from Harvard Medical School, functional gastrointestinal disorders have many different causes but stress in particular can cause these problems to arise (Miller). This goes to show that stress can largely affect college students’ physical health. Aside from stomach issues, many college students experience weight gain or weight loss. The Freshman 15 is a
My article was about the dreaded freshman 15 and how it’s common for freshman students to gain weight during their first year. The article talks about if students actually gain 15 pounds just in their first year alone. Some studies have said that this is false, and the average weight gain is closer to around 7 and ½ pounds. While this isn’t so bad, the article goes on to show where all those calories will be coming from, and give tips as to how to avoid weight gain. The article mentions how to pick healthy food in the dining hall, and how to eat less while there. It advises also getting into habits of going to the gym and staying active alongside eating healthy. Lastly, it talks about snacking in between meals and drinking calories. The author
Preview: First, I will discuss how low physical activity leads to decreased health among college students. Second, I will note different factors that typically affect physical activity levels. And finally, I will touch on some of the negative health impacts that may lead to disease among students. II. Main Point 1: High physical activity levels will increase overall health.
The stigma with college students and their eating habits is that most people eat a diet filled with ramen noodles, microwaveable dinners, and excessive amounts of coffee. Traditionally, the thought of college eating
Julianne Tarullo, a journalist from the Huffington Post and press coordination of NBCUniversal Media, explains the nutritional challenges of a college student in her article “Nutrition in College: Answers From the Experts.” Weight gain, eating habits, fad diets, drinking, and weight management are some of the nutritional challenges that a college student may face. Tarullo’s article relates to a topic of why college years are a nutritional challenge, which is a topic discussed in chapter 7 of “Get Fit Stay Well.”
Having bad eating habits can cause vastly eating disorders and illnesses. Students attending college that do not eat right are most likely to conceive an illness or become overweight. “An unhealthy diet is a major risk factor for becoming overweight and obese,” (McNight). Freshman 15 is most likely to get to the students that have This is something to think about when it comes to meal plans. The majority of the meal plans offered at any college are high in fats and calories. By consuming all of these foods you are more likely to having this problem.
The results from this study verify the ‘Freshman Fifteen’ by demonstrating that freshmen at Cornell University, who were enrolled in introductory courses in Nutrition and in Human Development, experienced significant weight gain during the first 3 months of college. The gain in weight during the first 12 weeks of the semester was 1.9kg or 158.3 g/week. This amount of weight is more than double of that observed by Hovel et al10 (76.57 g/week) and more than that recorded by Matvienko et al12 (103.85g/week in their untreated control group).
P., Ilich, J. Z., Dutton, G. R., Panton, L. B., & Abood, D. A. (2009). The freshman weight gain phenomenon revisited. Nutrition Reviews, 67(2), 83-94. doi:10.1111/j.1753-4887.2008.00143.x
Also many students in college are still growing, many people do not reach their maximum hight until their early twenties. The average freshman going into college is eighteen, making it a very high probability that students would gain weight because of growth. Also, stress can cause weight gain but can also cause weight loss. When people become stress, many sometimes forget to eat, putting food second to what needs to be accomplished. So even if students do gain a few pounds for other reasons, stress may keep there weight the same if they eat less. After paying for college many students do not have a lot of money. This is were the stereotype, roman eating college student comes into play. How could someone gain weight when all their eating is small amounts of unhealthy
Every college student knows about the midnight pizza runs, unlimited food in the dining halls, the ice cream bar, the two-in-the-morning cravings, and that plethora of snacks in the dorm room. In college, students get to make their own life choices, do whatever they want to do, and eat whatever they want to eat. Unfortunately, many college students make poor choices when it comes to their eating habits. A large majority of college students gain weight over the course of their freshman year, and the fact that such an extreme weight gain happens is so significant that it has earned itself a lasting name: the “Freshman Fifteen.”
Obesity has risen over the years. The United States now has one of the highest obesity rates. Bad eating habits are usually the cause of this pandemic. For the past few decades, college dorm foods have led to these habits. The more unhealthy food choices are, the harder it is for people to resist these foods. Colleges serve a variety of unhealthy food in their dining halls that contributes to students’ lower GPA. By eating healthier, students can maintain a healthy weight, focus better in school, and increase their school performance to a higher grade point average (GPA).
College life is a time full of fun, friends, activities, classes, and homework. All of these activities however, add up to a busy life style. Being busy is not in itself harmful but when the busyness becomes so great that it turns into stress, problems start to arise. The formation of stress leads to many unhealthy trends, such as lack of sleep, loss of immunity to disease, and a change in personality traits. How then can stress in the busy lives of college students be reduced? The answer is a simple one that has long been known; exercise relieves stress. Colleges across the country need to implement a program of required exercise classes to promote the well being of students.
College age students face different problems than the teens in high school. When students live in dormitories at a university or college, they eat on a meal plan. They usually do not have money of their own to spend on food at restaurants so the cafeteria regulates what food they eat. The cafeterias serve a lot of foods such as hamburgers or other meats with sauces and a lot of potatoes. These foods are very high in starch and cause of weight gain.