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OK, so honestly, it IS real. The Freshman 15 is a very real thing. Many, on-campus freshman residents tend to overeat. It’s a simple fact of American college culture. Let me put this into perspective. Students eat frequently throughout the day, either at the cafeteria, local eateries, or in their dorm. Cafeteria food isn’t exactly Weight Watchers, and most of the time, it’s all-you-can-eat! There is an overwhelming imbalance between health foods and fatty foods in student dining. In cafeterias, the selection may vary from salads to grilled chicken to cereal to fried rice to pizza to ice cream to brownies. Local eateries aren’t always health-conscious either. Lastly, food kept in dorms is usually very unhealthy (mainly because food kept in dorms is snack food on reserve for whenever the cafeteria is closed). Popular dorm snacks include Oreos, Potato Chips, Goldfish, cereal, candy, and candy bars. We all know that all these things can’t possibly be good for you.

Some excuses for gorging are:

I’m paying for this food so I should make the most of my meal plan.

There’s so much food and if I don’t eat it, they’re gonna throw it away!

I can’t help it, I’m so stressed out and eating makes me feel better.

Eating helps me focus better on my schoolwork and studies.

I get enough exercise walking up all these stairs to get to class!

Many students overeat because of late nights out, late nights of studying, and the stresses of college life. Also, sleep deprivation slows down your metabolism; therefore, you gain more weight for eating the same amount of food!

Here at Bentley, on-campus Freshman residents are forced to have the “Universal Meal Plan,” meaning we get unlimited meal swipes into the cafeteria, where the food is buffet-style and is open most the time. In addition to our unlimited meal swipes, we are given $325/per semester on our student account to purchase food/snacks from some of the school’s other food vendors. These vendors are available because they offer different cuisine for students whenever they get sick-and-tired of Seasons (our cafeteria) food or whenever Seasons is closed.

The commuter situation is different though. Commuters usually don’t have this problem because they are either eating at home, or are cooking their own food.

Finally, I’ll be frank, nights of partying and drinking (not that I do either of these things) aren’t the best way to watch your calories either. Beware of the ominous Freshman 15. Stay fit and healthy!

Sincerely,

Danny Wong – Bentley University Class of 2012