Chris:
A couple of weeks ago one of your readers wrote a question about gaining weight in college. They referred to this process as the freshman fifteen. This is the first time I have ever heard this term used to describe college students putting on weight. Since I plan on going to college this winter I was wondering if you could explain exactly what it is and why it happens. My best guess would be students gain weight from excessive drinking but maybe I’m wrong. Can you can shed some light on this topic for me.Thanks.
Mandy
Mandy:
The shock of college life is usually too much for people to handle. In fact it has often been said that freshman will gain an average of fifteen pounds just for showing up. In my opinion the college lifestyle is a recipe for rapid weight gain. Here are a few humorous reasons why I believe this to be true.
Many college students eat like sumo wrestlers. Sumo wrestlers have gained the reputation as the fattest athletes on earth. That’s right they actually try to gain weight. They accomplish this goal by skipping breakfast, eating 2 large meals a day, and chugging large amounts of, you guessed it beer. All of these things will cause your metabolism to slow down making it much easier to gain weight. If these habits don’t remind you of college I don’t know what does.
Think about it, most college meal plans provide 2-3 large meals a day. The average college student stays up late and skips breakfast and starts off with a big lunch. At the end of the day they wash it all down with a couple of cold ones and a late night snack. Sound familiar?
Some students fall victim than Rip Van Winkle syndrome. For anyone that doesn’t remember the story of Rip Van Winkle lets just say he fell a sleep under a tree for twenty years. Although this may be a huge exaggeration most college students are notorious for sleeping late and taking frequent naps in the middle of the day. In fact most students that live on campus are only in class 3-4 hours a day leaving them plenty of time to lie around.
A lot of college student’s hydrate more frequently from a keg rather than a cup. In many cases drinking becomes second nature and the party never stops. Endless amounts of liquid calories are consumed on a regular basis making it much more difficult to get motivated to do physical activity. The alcohol drives the metabolism into an all time low and weight gain is inevitable.
I am not saying that everyone that goes to college will gain weight. Some people will work out, stay active and will do just fine. However I do believe that it becomes very easy to develop some unhealthy habits. If you’re not careful you might become a victim of the freshman fifteen.