Research
Adherence
The majority of weight gain in the first year occurs during the first term (first 4 months), with students gaining 1.24 kg in the first term versus 1.76 kg by the end of the year.
If you can maintain healthy habits during your first 4 months (the first term), you will prevent the majority of your annual weight gain. The average gain in the first term is 1.24 kg, while the total annual gain is 1.76 kg. Focus your efforts on the start of the year.
GoodQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
When we conducted a meta-regression, the length of follow-up was significant (p < 0.05) to predict higher weight change... over the first four months, students gained an average of 1.24 kg... and by the end of the academic year, they had gained on average 1.76 kg.
Why this rating
Based on 6 studies with two time points.
Source
A meta-analysis of weight gain in first year university students: is freshman 15 a myth?
Claudia Vadeboncoeur et al. · BMC Obesity · 2015
DOI 10.1186/s40608-015-0051-7
Meta-analysis · 32 studiesCited 285×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- First-year university students gain an average of 1.36 kg (3 lbs) during their first year, with 60.9% of students gaining weight and weight gainers averaging 3.38 kg (7.5 lbs).Good
- Weight gain in first-year university students is not significantly different between males and females, with both gaining approximately 1.3-1.4 kg on average.Good
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