Stress, poor food choices factors in freshman weight gain

     According to freshman15.com, “College freshman seem to be the most susceptible to gaining weight their first semester (or year) at college.” The site says that this is usually because of a lifestyle change. The most common causes of the freshman 15 gain are lack of exercise, eating late at night, unhealthy snacking, unhealthy cafeteria food and too much alcohol. These things can happen to MJC students, who commute to school, but is it as common as it is at four year residential colleges?  The answer is: most likely.
     Out of 57 MJC students polled by this reporter, 31 of them say they gain weight once school starts and continues as the school year goes on, as opposed to what they weighed at summer break. The most common reason for this weight gain is stress, students say. The runner up reason is “no time for exercise.” It seems to be that living at home has no effect on time constraints or homework stress for MJC students, both freshman and sophomores. This seems to prove the fact that many students gain weight because of school. Only six students of the 57 said that they have lost weight since school has started; four of these students say it’s because they eat less once school starts.
     However, it is not usually a 15 pound gain, as most think, but an average of five pounds.
     “I gained three pounds since school has started,” first year student Tania Vera says. “I buy food from the school or the taco truck next door a couple times a week. I never really have time to make my own lunch.” This wasn’t one of the top reasons the polled students gave for their weight gain, but there are always many students in the Student Center eating the food the Cafeteria provides, which tends to be on the more unhealthy side. The school does provide some healthy food, though, such as salads, fruits or sandwiches, but students usually overlook that fact and go straight to the fried food.
      Kidshealth.org has some solutions to help stop weight gain. The very first tip they have on the site is “avoid eating when stressed, while studying, or while watching T.V.” While many of the students polled stayed the same weight, the ones who lose or gain weight because of school need to monitor much of what they eat and do. If you want more information on the freshman 15 and how to prevent it, go on both the websites mentioned earlier and read the tips on what you should or should not do.
 

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