Rethinking the Freshman 15

A More Honest Conversation About Body Changes in College

If you’re heading off to college, there is a good chance you have already heard about the “Freshman 15”, the idea that students inevitably gain 15 pounds during their first year away from home. It is a phrase that has become so familiar that we rarely stop to question it, despite the lack of supporting research. Studies show average weight changes during the first year of college are smaller than the “Freshman 15” implies, and there is substantial variation from person to person. Also, although “Freshman 15” is often directed toward young women, research does not show a meaningful difference in average first-year weight change between female and male college students. 

But more importantly, these averages describe populations, they do not predict body changes for an individual student, nor do they define what a “healthy” amount of change should be for you. Averages are useful for describing groups, but they are terrible fortune-tellers. If the average number of pets per household were two, you wouldn’t interpret that as a prescription to go out and get two cats. In the same way, a population average for weight change is not a prediction or goal for your individual body.

This is important to highlight because of how much fear we have attached to the possibility of gaining weight in college. I remember being a new student at San Diego State University, an environment steeped in diet culture, where appearance, weight and shape felt overvalued. Now, as Cofounder of AthleatMD, I work with athletes who also feel that immense pressure to achieve a certain aesthetic. Much of my work involves helping athletes understand that their bodies are not static, and that interfering with normal body changes can carry significant consequences. 

The transition to college is a major life change. Your schedule changes. Your sleep may change. You may eat differently than you did at home. Your activity level changes. You are navigating new academic, social, and emotional demands, and while your body is still maturing. There is no single “right” amount of weight for your body to gain or not gain during this transition. Some students gain weight. Some maintain their weight. Some lose weight. None of those changes, by themselves, tell us whether someone is healthy.

And for college athletes, this is especially important. Starting college can mean a substantial increase in training volume and intensity, sometimes within weeks of arriving on campus. Your body needs enough energy not only to fuel practices and competitions, but also to support recovery, bone health, hormones, immune function, and continued development. For an athlete who has been chronically underfueling, restoring weight is one of the most protective parts of recovery. Adequate nutrition can support the restoration of menstrual function, bone health, muscle development, training adaptation, and overall physiological health. A body that changes in response to being adequately fueled is not a body that has “failed.”

There are also other reasons why weight gain during the first year of college is often necessary. Young adults are continuing to mature physically, and changes in body composition can be part of normal development.  And perhaps most importantly, learning to tolerate changes in your body without immediately trying to restrict, compensate, or exercise them away is part of ‘adulting’ and developing a healthy relationship with food and your body.

So, if you are an incoming college student and the idea of the “Freshman 15” is making you anxious, I encourage you to ask a different question. Instead of asking, “How do I make sure my body doesn't change?” ask, “How do I take care of my body so it adapts properly for this next chapter?”

Eat consistently. Give yourself enough food to support your brain, your body, and your activities. Enjoy meals with friends. Get enough sleep. Move your body in ways that feel good and support your health versus to compensate for what you have eaten. And if your body changes along the way, remember that change is not evidence that you have done something wrong. 

Your weight is one of the least interesting things about you. Don’t let something so uninteresting take up so much space that it defines your college experience.

College is a time of tremendous growth and development. You will grow academically, socially, emotionally, and personally. Your body is allowed to grow and change, too.