Changes in body weight and fat mass of men and women in the first year of college: A study of the "freshman 15".
Students entering their first year of college are faced with many stresses and changes, including changes in eating and exercise behavior. A common but often undocumented myth among college students is that there is a high risk of gaining 15 pounds of weight during freshman year. The objective of this study was to measure changes in body weight and percentage of body fat among first-year college students. Using a digital scale with bio-electrical impedance, the authors measured height, weight, and percentage of body fat for a sample of students who volunteered to be weighed during a health assessment in the university dining halls. The authors sent e-mails inviting those same students to complete a second measurement in February of the academic year. Sixty-seven of the 217 students who volunteered for the health assessment agreed to undergo a second set of measurements in the spring. The mean change in body weight was 2.86 pounds (1.3 kg, SD = 4.0 kg), and the mean change in percentage of body fat was 0.7% (SD = 4.0%). For those students who gained weight only, the mean increase in body weight (as measured by body mass index, weight divided by height in kg/m2) was 6.82 pounds (3.1 +/- 2.4 kg) and percentage of body fat was 0.9 +/- 3.8%. The authors found that the first year of college is a period in which weight and fat gain may occur. The exact causes behind these changes are unclear and warrant further research to plan or improve intervention and prevention.
Hoffman
Daniel J
DJ
Department of Nutritional Sciences, Rutgers, State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA. dhoffman@aesop.rutgers.edu
Policastro
Peggy
P
Quick
Virginia
V
Lee
Soo-Kyung
SK
D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D050218:Body Fat Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009515:New Jersey; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology*