Although a popular notion among first-year university students, the "freshmen fifteen" is a serious issue related to student stress, depression, and poor eating habits. This notion is common on social media and university campuses. Weight gain during the beginning of post-secondary for first-year students is shown to actually average about 5 lbs (Vella-Zarb and Elgar 161). Only recently has the idea behind the ‘freshmen fifteen/five’ caught the attention of the scientific community (Vella-Zarb and Elgar 161). This essay will examine the concept behind the occurrence of weight gain in first year students. The ‘freshmen fifteen’ is not just a common expression; the deeper mechanism behind the concept is a serious issue related to student well-being.
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The new environment also has a greater influence on the food choices they make Gower, Hand, & Crooks 1). Food companies on campus like to capitalize that students will often be hungry and need somewhere near campus to eat. Campuses are plastered with ads for food places, often describing their food as healthy, cheap, or ready-to-go. In reality they tend to be the complete opposite. When first-year students were examined on their level of “food nutritional information” knowledge only 26% passed (Melnyk et al. 317). Similarly, Rachel A. Vella-Zarb and Frank J. Elgar argue that ‘freshmen five’ primarily comes from the students’ lack of knowledge of nutrition and health (165). Vella-Zarb and Elgar explains that the ‘freshmen five’ benefits students in the long run. University students become more aware of the health problems associated with the ‘freshmen five’ and educate themselves to a healthier lifestyle (Vella-Zarb and Elgar 164). While most schools are bringing more awareness of nutritional health, they neglect to correlate that stress and convenience play a big part with first-year students’ eating habits. Simply telling students to “make good choices and eat properly” is not enough, especially when making good food choices is the last thing on a student’s
The new environment also has a greater influence on the food choices they make Gower, Hand, & Crooks 1). Food companies on campus like to capitalize that students will often be hungry and need somewhere near campus to eat. Campuses are plastered with ads for food places, often describing their food as healthy, cheap, or ready-to-go. In reality they tend to be the complete opposite. When first-year students were examined on their level of “food nutritional information” knowledge only 26% passed (Melnyk et al. 317). Similarly, Rachel A. Vella-Zarb and Frank J. Elgar argue that ‘freshmen five’ primarily comes from the students’ lack of knowledge of nutrition and health (165). Vella-Zarb and Elgar explains that the ‘freshmen five’ benefits students in the long run. University students become more aware of the health problems associated with the ‘freshmen five’ and educate themselves to a healthier lifestyle (Vella-Zarb and Elgar 164). While most schools are bringing more awareness of nutritional health, they neglect to correlate that stress and convenience play a big part with first-year students’ eating habits. Simply telling students to “make good choices and eat properly” is not enough, especially when making good food choices is the last thing on a student’s