IMRaD Mandatory Draft

Abstract

            This report analyzes the factors that college students attribute to their weight gain.  A survey was conducted to achieve a better understanding of the different factors that may affect why college students put on weight.  This survey asked basic questions about how participants’ diet and exercise has changed since leaving for college.  Overall, the data showed that many college students attribute their weight gain to exercising less frequently.  These results can be useful to future freshmen classes on ways to deter weight gain, and also allows the University of Iowa to focus on the importance of exercising as a way to hinder weight gain.

Introduction

            One of the many challenges that college students face is weight gain.  College weight gain is so prevalent that it has become known as the freshmen fifteen.  This refers to the likeliness that a first-year student in college will put on fifteen pounds by the end of the year.  Weight gain is a big concern for college students, however many of them do not take the appropriate steps to prevent it.  This is an issue because there has been an increased trend in the prevalence of obesity in America.  Obesity has significant health effects on the body and may even be fatal.  Large weight gain in college can set students on a path towards obesity.  Consequently, it is important for college students to be able to understand why they are gaining weight, and what they can do to prevent it.  Although the freshmen fifteen is a commonly used term, there have been conflicting studies on the validity of this claim.

            N. Mihalopoulos, P. Auinger, and J. Klein (2010) conducted a study at the University of Utah and discovered that few students actually gain the whole fifteen pounds, but rather they gain about 2.7 pounds on average (p. 532).  A similar study done at Auburn University by S. Gropper, K. Simmons, and A. Gaines (2009) concluded that freshmen students gain about 2.1 pounds on average (p. 228).  Clearly, there is an issue of college students gaining too much weight during their first year.  Yet, both of these studies failed to investigate why so many college students put on this much weight.  This study aims to expand on the conclusions of these past studies by examining the factors that freshmen students at the University of Iowa believe has contributed to their weight gain.

Methods

Participants: Those who participated in this study were freshmen students in their first semester at the University of Iowa in the fall of 2015.  In total, there were twenty students who participated in this study.

Data Sources: Participants were asked to complete an anonymous online survey.

Procedure: Participants were asked a variety of questions about factors of weight gain and whether these factors applied to them.  The first question was, “How much weight have you gained since leaving for college?”  The second question was, “What do you think has attributed to your weight gain?”  A list of factors were provided, and participants were asked to select all that they thought applied.  Finally, participants were then asked if the strongly agreed, agreed, disagreed, or strongly disagreed to a series of three statements regarding the health of their diet, food consumption, and exercise.

Data Analysis: The results obtained from the survey were converted into percentages.  These percentages were then displayed in bar graphs to allow the reader to quickly obtain the relevant information.  One survey question that was analyzed was the participants’ response to what they considered the main cause of their weight gain.  Based on the results from this question, the report also analyzes the way in which this specific factor has increased or decreased since the participant has entered college. 

Results

Figure 1: Participants’ response to what they believe causes their weight gain

           

Figure 1 shows a distribution to the responses pertaining to causes of weight gain among survey participants.  47.8% of University of Iowa freshmen participating in the survey believe their weight gain is caused by a lack of exercise.  21.7% of participants declared that consuming more food is a reason for their weight gain.  These results suggest that students who are putting on weight during their freshmen year attribute it overwhelmingly to lack of exercise, while less than a quarter of participants attribute their weight gain to consuming more food than they have in the past.   

Figure 2: Participants’ response to the statement, “I exercise less in college than I did in high school.”

           

Figure 2 shows that freshmen students at the University of Iowa exercise much less in college than they did in high school.  50% of participants agreed that they exercise less in college, and 35% of participants strongly agreed that they exercise less in college.  Figure 1 illustrated that many participants stated that a reason for their weight gain was exercising less frequently.  Figure 2 elaborates on that fact by showing around 85% of the participants do not exercise as much as they used to in high school.

Discussion

            This study shows what factors University of Iowa freshmen attribute to their weight gain.  The results demonstrate that the most common perceived reason for putting on weight is exercising less frequently.  In fact, when participants were asked to expand upon their rate of exercise, nearly 85% of them stated that they do not exercise as much as they used to in high school. 

            There were some issues with the study that took place.  First of all, there were too few participants to accurately gauge the factors that influence weight gain among freshmen students at the University of Iowa.  In total, this study surveyed twenty students.  Twenty students is not enough to provide an accurate representation of the entire freshmen class.  Another fault in this study was that it analyzed two major reason for weight gain: exercise and diet.  However, there are many other reasons why people may put on weight.

            The results of this survey indicate that lack of exercise is a major reason why many University of Iowa freshmen put on weight.  This previously unknown data can help the University of Iowa focus more on exercise as a way to deter weight gain.  For example, they could promote the recreation center or involvement in intramural sports.  These results can also help the next class of incoming freshmen by explaining to them what other freshmen have struggled with regarding weight gain in college. 

            There is certainly future research that can be done regarding this issue.  First, this report focused on the two main types of ways people put on weight.  Further research could analyze how less common factors affect weight gain among college freshmen.  Another area that could be researched is how a change in lifestyle affects weight gain among college students.  Lifestyle changes such as, stress level and homesickness affect most college students, which could be additional reasons for weight gain among college students.

           

           

References

Gropper, S., Simmons, K., & Gaines, A. (2009). The freshman 15: a closer look. Journal of American College Health, 58(3), 223-231.

Mihalopoulos, N., Auinger, P., & Klein, J. (2010). The freshmen 15: is it real? Journal of American College Health, 56(5), 531-553.

Appendix

1.     How much weight have you gained since leaving college?

2.     What do you think has attributed to your weight gain?

3.     I eat a less healthy diet in college than I did in high school.

a.     Strongly agree

b.     Agree

c.     Disagree

d.     Strongly disagree

4.     I consume more food in college than I did in high school.

a.     Strongly agree

b.     Agree

c.     Disagree

d.     Strongly disagree

5.     I exercise less in college than I did in high school.

a.     Strongly agree

b.     Agree

c.     Disagree

d.     Strongly disagree