College weight gain is not just an urban myth

By Kelli Mutchler
Assitant News Editor

Not just a fiction for urban legends, college weight gain — the illusive Freshman 15 — can be an actual threat, striking students with the same mythical horror as a hook-wielding stalker.

The myths about gaining weight in college have circulated for decades, but unlike other legendary horror stories, this one often turns out to be true. A Cornell University study found that, on average, college freshman gain about half a pound per week. The study also found that the Freshman 15 affects as many as 85 percent of female college students.

Arts & Sciences freshman Stacey Lipetzky not only knew about the weighty effects of college, but started a summer diet and exercise plan with friends to prevent those 15 pounds.

According to a Web site by Diana Keuilian, a recent college graduate and nationally certified personal trainer, collecting extra calories in college is explainable and avoidable.

Keuilian’s site lists three reasons that college students gain weight: a decrease in activity, an increase in calorie intake and a decrease in metabolism. Students’ hectic schedules and lack of continuing exercise combined with all-you-can-eat buffet lines, late night meals and constant snacking, result in a poorly managed diets and unwanted additional pounds. Alcohol, caffeinated coffee drinks and cheap fast food meals also hurt. Even the food constantly present at events and group meetings adds up quickly.

After Welcome Week, Lipetzky recognized the dangers of food at social gatherings.

“ It seems like every event you went to was like, ‘Here, have some ice cream,’” Lipetzky said.

The problem does not just trouble females. Arts & Sciences sophomore Ronan Conlon said that he avoids weight gain by drinking milk instead of sugar pop. He tries to eat healthy meals in the dining halls.

“ I’ll find myself wanting to get one of everything, then I have a mountain of food and then I feel guilty because my dad always tells me to clean my plate,” Conlon said.

To ward off the myth and the love handles, Keuilian suggests avoiding buffet lines, coffee cups and desserts. Instead of a Frappuccino or slice of cake, she says to drink tea and limit eating desserts to one or two days a week. Ignoring a tray in the cafeteria will lessen the tendency to pile up plates of unneeded food. Keuilian says also to cut back on carbohydrates and instead eat more of the obvious with healthy food groups. The dining locations on campus offer a wide selection of foods from green to brown, so Creighton students can better balance their meals.

The Kiewit Fitness Center is available for working out, as well as other for forms of athletic exercise such as intramural sports. Long walks from distant parking lots or walking up and down stairs can be other easy ways to keep off extra pounds.

Conlon said social athletic activities, like football on the Mall, are a fun way to stay active.

Keuilian’s Web site said the most important key to keeping off weight in college—whether it is 15 pounds or 5—is to be conscious of the problem and consistent in your action.

For more information on college weight gain and how to prevent it, visit www.AvoidTheFreshman15.com.