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It
takes determination to avoid the 'freshman 15'
September 9, 04
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
What were you afraid of when
you went off to college?
There was the panic of registering for classes, the shock
of sharing a small living space with a complete stranger,
the worry of waking up on time to get to an eight o’clock
class.
And to top it off, there was fear of the “freshman 15.”
Small solace that a study by researchers at Tufts University
found that the average weight gain for college students is
actually six pounds for men and four and a half pounds for
women in their first year away from home.
“You always hear about it in high school, that going
off to college there’s the risk of gaining the freshman
15,” said Anna Pryce, my niece who is a freshman from
Asheville at UNC-Chapel Hill. “When people come home
for the summer, you can tell they’ve gained.”
Anna joined our family for dinner last week for the first
time since arriving in Chapel Hill. We talked about her adjustment
to college life, and I asked her for some insights into reasons
why students put on weight.
It’s something she and her friends have already considered.
“We all talk about it,” she said. The biggest
threats:
* Fantastic campus food, often served buffet style. “It’s
mostly healthy, but there’s a lot of dessert,”
Anna said. “You pay a lot for the meal plan, so you
want to eat a lot. It’s also convenient.”
* Late night food fests. “It’s easy to order pizza
and food to the dorm,” she said. “People stay
up later, so they eat later.”
* Less emphasis on sports. People who participated in sports
in high school often discontinue them when they get to college.
They don’t have the time.
According to Anna, she and her friends joke a lot about fending
off weight gain. But she has a serious plan for staying in
shape.
“I have a personal policy I follow,” she said.
“For instance, it’s my policy to walk up and down
the nine flights of stairs to my room, even if I forget something.
A lot of people take the elevator, even if they live on the
third floor,” she said.
Other pointers for avoiding weight gain:
* Buy only healthy foods for the dorm. “I don’t
keep chocolate in my room, because if I did, it would be gone,”
Anna said. What she does keep on hand: veggie burgers, apples,
grapes, carrots, Honey Nut Cheerios, milk, instant oatmeal
packets, tomato soup, granola bars, and pretzels. Her room
is equipped with a refrigerator and microwave oven.
* Walk as often as possible. In fact, Anna walked the 35 minutes
to class in the rain one day while others took the bus. “It’s
a good way to wake up in the morning. You feel a lot better,
and you get to meet people.” She walks to and from meals.
“It just feels good to walk after you’ve eaten,”
she said.
* Find fun ways to be active. “A lot of people bike
at Carolina,” Anna said. “There are also lots
of runners, because it’s a convenient way to exercise.
A lot of people who never used to run decide to pick up running.”
Students also take classes at the student recreation center,
including yoga, Pilates, and kick boxing. Others swim laps
at the pool.
Anna and her friends are planning to do “ab workouts”
at the rec center together and are training for a marathon,
too. She’s hoping to run a marathon in Orlando, Fla.,
over winter break, but if that doesn’t materialize,
she has a fall-back plan.
“I’ll find another one,” she said. “It
doesn’t matter. I just want to train and run a marathon
anywhere.”
That’s determination – one last key to avoiding
the freshman 15.
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