For a clichéd predicament, new solutions

For many freshmen, college means not only added responsibility, but added bulk. The dreaded "Freshman 15," which refers to the average weight gain among first-year college students, has long been concern on campuses across the country.

Karen Dougherty, executive dietician for University Dining Services, and Linda Bell, nutritionist at Yale Health Services, both see the Freshman 15 as a very real issue. They believe it results from a combination of living away from home for the first time and the inevitable stress of a high-powered university. "For many students, there was never a choice about what to eat for dinner," Dougherty said. "Whatever Mom and Dad served, that was it. Now there are all these choices. The sheer volume can be overwhelming." Bell also placed blame on "the wide variety of calorically dense foods." With a mandatory plan that includes 21 meals per week, freshmen face an almost limitless number of temptations among the hot entrées as well as the salad, waffle, pasta, sandwich, and dessert bars, not to mention the endless varieties of soda and cereal.

Dougherty cited stress as a contributing factor. "At college in general, but at Yale in particular, students are under a tremendous amount of pressure," she said. Many students use eating as stress relief or as a reward for completing an assignment. Others indulge in late-night snacking to stay alert as they work.

In another effort for better nutrition, Dining Services has posted new item identifiers above certain dishes in college dining halls. While nutritional information has always been available in pamphlets, this information has never enjoyed such immediate accessibility.

"With these identifiers," Duane Clark, Director of Dining Services, said, "we hope to answer questions before they are asked. Different people look at different things. Some are concerned with salt, some with fat content. The cards are there as a reference." Asked if he noticed a trend in weight gain among college freshmen, Clark acknowledged that freshmen do gain weight for a "multitude of reasons" including living away from home, stress, and change in activity level. However, he emphasized that the identifiers make nutritional information readily available to all students with a variety of dietary concerns and are not just in response freshmen worries about unwanted weight gain. "[The Freshmen 15] is not something we go out and combat," Clark said. "Really, the choice is up to the individual."

Still, not everyone approves of the new cards. A Silliman sophomore, who asked to remain anonymous, said, "they stress numbers more than health—the quantity of calories rather than what you're eating. [It] makes people too body-conscious, which can lead to anorexia and other disorders."

A junior in Berkeley, who also asked to remain anonymous, did not see a need for the cards. "When I was a sophomore, I had a roommate who was anorexic. I think part of her problem may have been the result of stress she felt about gaining weight freshman year," she said. She admitted that she gained the Freshman 15 herself. "Now I see it as a kind of rite of passage. I think it's important not to stress over the 15 too much and realize it's part of the college experience."

Dougherty said there has been mixed reaction about the identifiers. "Sometimes people read them and come to inappropriate conclusions, and some students just prefer not to know. Student opinion appears to be split roughly 50-50, but if complaints continue we might consider removing the cards."

Many frosh express little or no concern. "I think of it more as a female issue," Lawton Laurence, BR '04, said. "I'm not really concerned about putting on a few pounds, and honestly I think most of the girls on this campus could afford to gain a few pounds." Bell agreed that she "tends to see more women than men about weight issues."

Still others theorize that beer might be the culprit behind the Freshman 15. While Bell does not deny that beer may be factor, she said, "Because it's illegal for college freshmen to drink, they don't tend to discuss alcohol consumption when they come to me for counseling."

"There are very few absolutes in nutrition," Bell said. "We are always trying to do what we believe is helpful by offering counseling and educational information. But realistically, there is never going to be a perfect solution."

Graphic by Sarah England.

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