The Freshman Fifteen: A Content Analysis

The freshman fifteen is a terrifying aspect that haunts the minds of insecure college students that become all too aware of their body type and appearance when they enter a huge community such as a University. It’s a change, to surroundings, mental well-being, and physical health. Young adults come to a college forced to make all their own decisions and health choices, which by all means can result in drastic effects to physical health and mental well-being. With this in mind, I believe every college should make their students health a number one priority in order to achieve success in academic life and fulfill the dietary needs of each student. Here at the University of Kentucky, student’s health is considered, but in a multitude of ways suffers abandonment. Throughout the campus of UK, a variety of dining options are placed for student convenience. Students are put on meal plans that …show more content…
Melissa Wdowik, director of the Kendall Anderson Nutrition Center says, “The main thing a college diet lacks are fruit and veggies.” Wdowik also claims students “know” how to eat healthy, but aren’t “motivated” to. (Buxton 2014). This is projected in most food areas around campus, for example in Bowman’s Den you see consistent lines at fast food places such as “Panda express” and “Chick-fila”, but head to the salad place and there will be no line whatsoever. The new found self-reliance gained from being away from home, encourages the poor choices and neglect of nutritional food choices. This independence is quite scary considering a student has less restricted guidance on what is good for them and frankly with the loaded college stress, could care less of what they eat. Student’s need to have less options to make poor decisions and more guidance upon how to consume foods appropriate for their individual