Can A Highschool Class Neutralize Freshman 15? by Olamotse

Can A Highschool Class Neutralize Freshman 15? by Olamotse - January 2023 Scholarship Essay

Prospective college students have all heard the stories about the dreaded "Freshman 15" – the 15 pounds students tend to gain during their freshman year at college. Honestly, Freshman 15 is nothing more than a cautionary tale. College freshmen can expect to gain weight, but the weight gained is generally less than 15 pounds. Studies show that 4-10 pounds are actually gained during a college student’s freshman year, but even those 4 extra pounds can add up. Weight gained during that first year can stay on and continue to increase.

Transitioning to college life is a drastic adjustment for many people. Being liberated from the constant parental supervision we are used to can lead to poor choices in everything from food to sleep and study habits. These habits directly affect the health and well-being of college students and can cause a spike in unhealthy body fat percentages. So is it possible to evade college weight gain, whether it's the notorious Freshman 15 or just a mere 4 pounds?

Learning more about healthy eating habits can help combat unnecessary weight gain in college. Therefore, nutrition classes should become a required high school credit, especially for students in their senior year. Once high school seniors graduate, they will be living on their own. It may even be the first year that many of them will be cooking for themselves, and making decisions that will directly affect their well-being. The class could even include instructions on promoting a good state of well-being as well as meal-prepping tutorials/charts and cooking classes to prepare students for the possibility of not always having dining halls to rely on for nutrition. Nutrition lessons will help students increase their knowledge and understanding of the impact food has on health. Specifically, it will improve nutrition knowledge, generate the ability to understand how to read a nutrition label, and allow them to be confident in their ability to choose healthy snacks and meals even when working with a budget.

Implementing required nutrition courses could also help lower the obesity rate in America. Teachers learning a nutrition-based curriculum to teach will also allow them to become just as informed as students. As a result, both teachers and students alike will be developing healthy habits. When educators and students indulge in nutrition education, the whole community benefits from increased nutritional intake and overall better health as they will now be able to spread the information they’ve learned. The stress of Freshman 15 can easily be alleviated as long as you follow a healthy diet and participate in physical activity, which can both be learned through high school nutrition classes.