Sean Evans
Special to In Motion
The Freshman 15 refers to 15 percent of freshmen and sophomores who gain a significant amount of weight as compared to junior and seniors, as well as to average adults in the United States.
Freshmen were found to gain from 3.5 to 4 pounds more weight than all upper-level students.
Dr. Myra Vergani, Health Education professor at Daytona State College, suggests that the new students finally get to do what they want to do without anyone telling them what to do. And that is eat.
Specifically eat all the junk food they can wrap their lips around.
Dr. Vergani highly recommends that students take nutrition classes and take advantage of the opportunity to use the gyms on campuses. She pointed out that many lack the will power and discipline to avoid junk food and need an incentive to eat nutritious foods instead.
New to college life, many students are faced with temptations to consume quick energy drinks that contain high amounts of caffeine and sugar. Students often use energy drinks to stay awake and cram for assignments and exams. The Centers for Disease Control published a landmark study about the extent of obesity among youth and the importance of preventing it. The CDC reported that the percentage of adolescents ages 12-19 had increased from 5 percent to nearly 21 percent. According to the results of another study reported in the Journal of American College of Health, 70 percent of the 290 students in the study gained weight. In 2010, data showed that male and female students’ physical activity decreased and weight gain increased and nearly half of the U.S. college students do not participant in any form of physical exercise. That study noted that obesity has both immediate and long term negative effects on the future health of students and the same is confirmed by the CDC data.
First Lady Michelle Obama has identified that her primary goal while in the White House is to encourage youths to be aware of the dangers of obesity and to teach them to eat nutritious foods. In 2009, Mrs. Obama with the help of children from the Washington, D.C. area, planted the first ever vegetable garden on the South Lawn of the White House. She continues to speak to students throughout the nation, to their parents, and to educators in an effort to promote healthy eating and discourage junk food, using her own children as examples of good nutrition habits.
— Correction —
In an article titled “In age of obesity, Freshman 15 alive and well,” published in the August-September edition of In Motion, Health & Wellness instructor Myra Vergani was identified as having a PhD. She does not. Reporter Sean Evans also did not interview Vergani as characterized in the article. We regret the error.