You are preparing for college by packing up your clothes; buying new decorations for your room and worrying you are going to gain the dreaded “freshman fifteen”. The “freshman fifteen” is known as weight students gain their first year in college. I know it is definitely easy to eat all the time while attending college, especially at a school such as SMU which is a large city with a multitude of places to eat. Especially, on campus at SMU there are three cafeterias, many off campus restaurants within walking distance of the campus, and, of course, all the snacks each students keeps on hand for late night snacking. One of a student’s biggest goals, as a freshman, is learning not to eat all the time.
Just because a lot of people in the freshman dorm order Jimmy John’s or run down to Mac’s Place to grab a snack, at any time of the day or night, does not mean you have to join them. In an article I read online, it stated new college students gain weight because eating is part of their new found freedom. New college students can eat whenever they want without anyone to tell them to stop. Also, they crave sugary snacks to keep them awake to pull the late night studying sessions which come with freshman year. The combination of sugary food and late night eating is not a healthy habit to start for these students.
Just because a lot of people in the freshman dorm order Jimmy John’s or run down to Mac’s Place to grab a snack, at any time of the day or night, does not mean you have to join them. In an article I read online, it stated new college students gain weight because eating is part of their new found freedom. New college students can eat whenever they want without anyone to tell them to stop. Also, they crave sugary snacks to keep them awake to pull the late night studying sessions which come with freshman year. The combination of sugary food and late night eating is not a healthy habit to start for these students.
However, there is some good news to the “freshman fifteen” myth. The article states students do not actually gain fifteen pounds. On the average, the students usually only gain eight pounds. Students gain weight because they do not know portion control. Also, students do not have the same structured lives they did at home. They are living on their own terms and their own times. So for many, snacking happens more often. However, one of the main reasons people gain weight is from drinking sugary sodas and energy drinks. They use the caffeine in the drinks to pull all nights, but each drink contains at least 100 calories and many contain a lot more.
Freshman students in college must watch their eating and drinking. The students do not want to go home over break having gained weight. Each student needs to take care of his or her body and enjoy the college experience.
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