Summer doesn't reverse freshmen weight gain

The "freshman 15" phenomenon, referring to the popular belief that freshmen gain 15 lbs their first year of college, was examined in 240 college freshmen. Body weight (wt), percent (%) body fat, and lean body mass (lbm) were measured using standard anthropometric techniques thrice during the 2007‐08 academic year (acad yr) and at the beginning of fall semester 2008 (BF08). About 66% of the freshmen gained wt over the acad yr; only 5% gained the notorious 15 lbs. Acad yr wt gain was 2.6 + 5.3 lbs for the entire group (n=205, 132 females, 73 males) and 6.0 + 5.3 lbs for the wt gain group (n=135, 82 females, 53 males). Percent body fat, but not lbm, significantly increased 1.4 + 2.2 % for the entire group and 2.0 + 2.2% for the wt gain group over the acad yr. About 47% of the students who had gained wt over the acad yr lost wt (‐3.7 lbs) over the summer, while 51% gained more wt (3.0 lbs). Summer wt gain for the entire group (n=167) averaged < 1/4 lb; however, 16% gained > 5 lbs. Wt and % body fat, but not lbm, were significantly greater BF08 than 1 year earlier for the entire group, but did not significantly differ from the end of the acad yr. These findings show that wt gained by college freshmen during the acad yr was not lost over the summer. Moreover, the "freshman 15" appears to apply only to a small percentage of college freshmen. This research was funded by USDA AL Agricultural Experiment Station (AAES) projects 013‐020 and 07‐020, and an AAES Initiative Grant.