CREDIT: JESSICA THOMPSON
Gaining the Freshman 15 can be a daunting fact to many of the new students at Fanshawe this year. Remember the provided tips to help prevent any weight gain

Most of us have heard of the Freshman 15, the looming idea that when you start college, you are doomed to gain 15 pounds in your first year. But how true is this unavoidable fear?

In a North American study published in the Journal of American College Health, first year students gain nearly six times more weight than the general population in their first year of school. Now this doesn’t quite work out to be a whole 15 pounds, but the fact of the matter is that coming to college may result in weight gain.

One of the most common reasons for this is living in residence where you have easy access to delicious but sometimes unhealthy foods.

This is especially true with the late night meals that are offered. Riley Hogan is currently in her second year of Medical Office Administration and is a varsity athlete on the Fanshawe badminton team.

Last year, Hogan lived on residence and often had her meals at Oasis Cafeteria. At Oasis, the typical daily choices include sandwiches, pasta, stir-fry, salad and anything on the grill.

“Oasis closes at eight on weekdays, but you do have an option where you can go to the late night window and get things like chicken fingers, hamburgers and poutine,” Hogan said.

For a late night snack these definitely are appealing. However they may not be the best choice for your health.

“Being a student-athlete I want to make healthy choices, but while living in residence that sometimes proved difficult,” Hogan said. “Oasis has some alternatives to eating healthy like their salad bars, making your own sandwiches, pastas and stir-fry’s, but knowing that they didn’t have a lot of different healthy options made it hard to eat right.”

Hogan had three pieces of advice on how to avoid gaining the Freshman 15.

First, Hogan insisted on avoiding the late night snacks when possible. “A big factor of the Freshman 15 is not eating right and one of the biggest causes could be going to the late night window. In addition to that, Oasis also has a large variety of chocolate bars, chips, ice cream and candy. These are all temptations that could make it hard for students to make the right healthy eating choices.”

Making the decision to avoid these late night temptations is a great start to avoiding that first year weight gain.

Secondly, Hogan insisted on ordering smaller portions. “This year Oasis came out with a small and large size for pizza, pasta, stir fry and poutine. Choosing the smaller size through the day will help avoid some of that weight gain,” Hogan said. “You could also get the large size and share or save it for another meal.”

Lastly, Hogan said that a big way to avoid the Freshman 15 is exercising on a regular basis and avoid eating fatty food every day.

“Find the time to exercise,” Hogan said. “Go for the healthier choices that Oasis has to offer.”