Researchers found that first-year college students do pack on pounds, but implementing healthy patterns early can help stave off that weight gain.

The freshman 15 is actually a bit of a misnomer, with students typically only putting on around 8 pounds over their first year. But that’s a substantial amount of weight to gain, particularly for students who are already overweight. In the study, UGA researchers found that first-years do pack on pounds, about 3 on average over the course of the semester. But implementing healthy patterns early can help stave off that weight gain.

A contributing factor to weight gain

Published in the Journal of American College Health, the study found that vigorous physical activity, the kind of exercise that gets your heart rate up and makes you sweat, was almost nonexistent among the first-year students at a public university in the South. The American Heart Association recommends all adults participate in 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes of intense exercise (or a combination of the two). At the start of the study, only two out of five students met the recommended level of activity.

That’s not to say none of the students were exercising. In fact, their moderate physical activity, such as walking across campus or biking at a casual pace, didn’t actually change much from when they were in high school. Some freshmen even upped their moderate activity.

But by the end of the study — which followed students during their first semester at school — almost 70% of the students reported no vigorous physical activity at all. At the beginning of the study, students reported higher levels of activity, with only 40% saying they weren’t exercising hard enough to start panting at the beginning of the study.

Story Source:
Materials provided by University of Georgia. Original written by Leigh Beeson. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.