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. 2008 Mar-Apr;56(5):531-3.
doi: 10.3200/JACH.56.5.531-534.

The Freshman 15: is it real?

Nicole L Mihalopoulos  1 , Peggy Auinger, Jonathan D Klein
Affiliations

The Freshman 15: is it real?

Nicole L Mihalopoulos et al. J Am Coll Health. 2008 Mar-Apr.

Abstract

Objective: The belief that college students gain 15 lbs during freshman year is widespread, yet the evidence for this is limited. The authors aimed to determine whether college students gain weight during freshman year.

Participants: The authors studied unmarried freshmen living on-campus at a private university in the northeastern United States.

Methods: The authors used an online survey to collect information about social behaviors and weight.

Results: The authors observed an average weight gain of 2.7 lbs. About half of the students gained weight, and 15% lost weight. Men gained more weight than did women.

Conclusions: Freshman weight gain was 5.5 times greater than that experienced by the general population.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Distribution of weight change.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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