Many first year college students embrace independence from their families with enthusiasm. They accept that a locker room will suffice for a real bathroom and close quarters with a complete stranger as a roommate is part of the package of living on campus, and that is the price of independence. The dreaded "Freshman 15" has also become a well-known part of the first year experience, but is entirely avoidable for those who are conscientious about their work out schedule.

Living on campus is a huge lifestyle change that is naturally stressful for many students in the first place, but the popular belief that fifteen pounds will be added to the scale by the end of the first year of college can be an added source of anxiety. It may seem obvious that this group of people might be at a dietary disadvantage: meals are served in an all-you-can-eat buffet called the cafeteria, late night pizza is a norm, and college students are known to binge drink at parties. Surprisingly, calories should not take all of the blame.

Five separate studies printed in 2007 and 2008 issues of Journal of American College Health prove that very few students will gain all of fifteen pounds, but more than half of the students who participated in the studies do gain some weight. The average student put on somewhere between two to four pounds, but there were some students who lost weight and one third experienced no change at all. Students' physical activity was the most important factor as to whether they put on the pounds.

Students who eat fruit two or more times a day typically do not gain weight. Why? The answer is that the fruit-eaters seem to like to exercise! Those who eat fruit every day were much more likely to take part in physical activities three or more times each week. Sadly, the overall number of students who did eat their fruits regularly declined significantly by the end of the school year.
Some people have bought into the myth that smoking keeps your weight down because they would smoke rather than snack. However, smokers are much less likely to work up a sweat and it is the students who do not work out who gained the most weight.
Students who perceive themselves to be overweight are less likely to exercise than those who would say that their build is "about right." In fact, of those students who did see a weight gain, the people who were overweight to begin with put on twice as much as those who started out at a healthy weight.
The most basic finding of all: two thirds of those who gained weight exercised less at the end of the school year than at the beginning.
Students who frequently exercised even at low-intensity activities-finished out the school year at healthier weights than those who exercised infrequently or only two or three times each week.

It's reasonable to presume that in addition to not working out, the students who gained weight also ate more food, but that is not the case. In fact, the average calorie intake for all students decreased. So ditch the diet: the key to avoiding the Freshman 15 is to exercise regurlarly!

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