It's August, meaning school starts soon. College students will again fill up the Boise State University campus. And a lot of them will be freshmen, just as I was in the fall of 1983.
One thing I remember well about my freshman year was the food in the school cafeteria. I never complained about it. I liked it. And I ran into this situation for the first time: it was basically all you can eat. At every meal. There was an entrée line where you could go back for seconds. There was a burger-and-sandwich line you could visit as many times as you wanted. There was a salad bar with unlimited trips. And there was a dessert bar.
That's where we run into the "freshman 15". The theory is that kids who are eating away from their parents for the first time have a tendency to put on about 15 pounds during their first nine months of school.
According to a recent study, though, the freshman 15 actually a myth.
In a sample of students, men gained an average of 5.5 pounds during their freshman year. Women gained an average of 4.5 pounds.
The study found some other statistics, as well.
59 percent of students admitted that they know full well their diet is worse since they started college.
40 percent of female students believe they are overweight, even though a much smaller percentage actually are.
And I don't know whether freshman bodies really decline in health and looks, but the study found that 32 percent of students report a decline in their body image the first year.
Do I think the freshman 15 is a myth? No. I don't. I put on 15 pounds my freshman year. Per semester.
