Freshman 15: Article Summary

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,

De Vos, P., Hanck, C., Neisingh, M., Prak, D., Groen, H., & Faas, M. M. (2015). Weight gain in freshman college students and perceived health. Preventive Medicine Reports, 2, 229–234.

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

As UTA students, we are constantly struggling with the goal of healthy living. However, combinations of rigorous classes, extracurricular activities and socializing, it just gets too hard to find the time to make our own meals. After analyzing Radley Balko’s article, “What You Eat Is Your Business”, I would like to respond to your request on whether or not this article should be published in The Shorthorn. Many students on campus would find this topic of obesity very relevant to their lives and would eagerly read it, which is why I believe this article should be posted in the next edition of The Shorthorn. Nearly all of the members of the UTA community would agree that what they eat is their business. However, when it comes to the subject

In the article, “Freshman 15: College Weight Gain Is Real” introduced by the writer, Jennifer Warner, argues that students would are off to college as freshman are in risk of gaining significant weight. Warner adds that “A new study shows that nearly one in four freshmen gain at least 5% of their body weight, an average of about 10 pounds, during their first semester” (Warner). Jennifer Warner supports this with researchers Heidi J. Wengreen and Cara Moncur of the department of nutrition and food sciences at Utah State University in Logan write in Nutrition Journal.The researchers added “Almost one quarter of students gained a significant amount of weight during their first semester of college”. This demonstrates that within these 25% of students, they gain significant

Royalton High School follows a 7 period day schedule, 50 minutes class periods, typically 5 days a week beginning at 8:15am and ending at 3:22pm. A regularly scheduled day consists of seven four minute passing periods and a 15 minute homeroom at the end of the day. Homeroom is not considered as a scheduled class, and even though it is not required, it is still beneficial to many students. The sole purpose of homeroom is to inform students of extracurricular activities, scholarships and college visits, the announcements, and reduce class absences.

Obesity is a common problem found across all demographics in the U.S., and is increasingly more prevalent amongst college age students. The “Freshman 15” is a real phenomenon that many young people face in their first year of independence from their homes. Students have their first experiences in choosing meals for themselves. One of the main reasons why college students put on this added weight when they leave home is the selection provided by their universities dining center. A quick glance at NDSU’s dining menus allows one to see that the deserts are what headline the menu, with the entrée options listed towards the bottom, as can be seen in FIGURE 1. This menu design influences the choices of the students; it subconsciously encourages

What peoples beliefs are can also affect their diet, they may become vegetarian or vegan which can be very healthy if executed the right way. A lot of studies have been done that relate stress and weight gain, so stress can definitely influence the way a person eats. Not only can it be academically but also social kind of stress can contribute to unhealthy choices, for example, after a bad breakup people actually do tend to eat more sweets and just sit around. Information on what people can do different in their diets would be very helpful; having a better knowledge on healthier diets would help people recognize what they are doing wrong and how to fix it. Many times people turn to fad diets because the fastest way and easiest place to get information from, now a days, is going on the internet and that’s were so many fad diets are being advertised. Time, it is apparently a hard thing to find in college, no one has time to go out to the store and buy groceries much less cook them, leading people to find something they can make quick in order to go back and hit the books or the television, a quick meal most of the time isn’t the best thing. These were some of the main reasons mentioned by the students that seem to affect eating behaviors (Deliens,

Today, college students are not getting enough nutrition in their foods to lead a healthy life. For example, in a paper written by,

For this week’s discussion board I used the article; Pardon the Interruption: Enhancing Communication Skills for Students with Intellectual Disability By: Bayes, Daniel A., Heath, Amy K., Williams, Carol, Ganz, Jennifer B., TEACHING Exceptional Children, 00400599, 20130101, Vol. 45, Issue 3.

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.

This article begins to talk about how adolescents around the world are committing crimes that are not safe for them or the community. The point of this article was to prove a point through research to see if a sex offender registry list would be a beneficial deterrence method. This research was not created to solely deter adolescents, but it was designed to be a general deterrence (Najdowski, C.J, et al., 2015).

Furthermore, in passage one of Asking the Right Questions, the conclusion made is that college students are vulnerable to obesity. The reason of this assumption is that a recent research study found evidence of obesity among college students due to lack of healthy foods and increased alcohol consumption. An important question to ask is there any omitted information? Why do they assume that all college students eat unhealthy food and drink alcohol? Who made this assumption? How many college students are obese? Are there more obese college students because there is now more college students.

Not only is the “Freshman 15” unhealthy, but this label can cause a person to lose confidence in herself due to her new image. Gaining these extra pounds can cause peers to tease and bully students, causing them to lose focus in school. With healthier choices in the dining halls, it will be easier for students to avoid this stereotype and feel better about themselves. College students will continue to maintain a healthy weight and keep their self esteem.

This study is aimed to focus on the transition of high school students into their first year of college, and how the effect of their diet is being manipulated. Also, this study will determine if the substantial weight gain will lead to a person opening doors for later on diseases.