
5 minute read
Why We Shouldn't Fear The 15
Why the "freshman 15" is doing more harm than good for first-year students
by Taylor Lander
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(Content Warning: Body-image, eating disorders, and weight gain)
I find my hand instinctively resting over my abdomen. I arise from my chair sucking in my stomach and wrap my arms around my torso. This shield against onlookers serves no purpose, and I know no one is really looking. However, this has been a habit of mine since middle school and followed me to my first year of college.
Sometimes I still can’t escape the feeling of eyes that scan over my body and the silent whispers of unintelligible words that seem to aim right at me. This not only made the transition to college harder but the fear of the “Freshman 15” even more drastic.
- Hannah M. (She/her), Sophomore
Being a first-year is…terrifying. While watching my parents leave my dorm room on move-in day, I felt the space around me expand. Moving my belongings to a new place where every face is unfamiliar was hard, but actually finding the courage to make them feel familiar was even harder.
Stigmas like the Freshman 15 enlarge these issues for incoming freshmen and engraves fear into them. They fear the weight gain just as much as they fear not being able to eat.

Photo by Sophie Warrick
Not only is the stigma of the 15 psychologically harmful, but it’s incredibly unfounded. According to The Atlantic, 14 different studies of about 1800 people showed an average gain of about 4.6 pounds in their first year of college.*
- Serena X. (She/her), First-Year
Stigmas like the Freshman 15 cloud first-year minds on what they believe to be important. While the changes may be subtle and unconscious, there is a real danger in them. They are silently working behind the scenes of every meal we have, and every calorie we count.
Weight gain is inevitable and natural for most people, but we continue to associate it with negative stigmas. It doesn’t matter if the added pounds are four or 20, any weight gain in the public’s eyes is seen as unfavorable.
- Hannah M. (She/her), Sophomore

Photo by Sophie Warrick
In 2009, Kate Moss infamously said in a magazine interview that “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” She explained she used this as a motto to keep her diet and workout regimen to standards for her career as a model.
- Hannah T. (She/her), First-Year
According to the National Eating Disorder Association,“ an ongoing study in Minnesota has found the incidence of anorexia increasing over the last 50 years only in women aged 15 to 24. Incidence remained stable in other age groups and in men.^
I asked Dr. Ryan LeCount, a sociology professor here at Hamline, how stigmas such as the Freshman 15 are created and influenced by society.
“Evidence suggests that rates of anxiety and depression have increased substantially across society, but in particular for people under 20, especially for young women,” he continued.
Stigmas serve a purpose to control and promote conformity in society. I believe it is through false advertisements like the 15 that people of all ages are constrained by this definition of “normal” and “abnormal.”
Our weights and bodies as individuals may not have physical eyes picking at our clothes and imperfections, but the judgmental words thrown in our ears is enough to add on another heavy layer. Sometimes, the words hurt more.
- Erin C. (She/her), Sophomore
Our generation is nicknamed “technological natives.” We were born, raised, and eventually sent into a world of extensive technological advancements. Additionally, as technology began to rise we saw an influx in social media sites and accessibility. Apps like Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and TikTok are hard to avoid.
Social media has been argued to have both negative and positive impacts on society and the mindsets we hold; but how does social media influence negative stigmas like the Freshman 15?
I see the effects of social media every day, both negative and positive. Many of us seek comfort and humor in the many aspects of social media. Not only do I actively post on platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat, but I find my sense of humor to shift with whatever TikTok I found funny in the last week. The powerful effects of social media are right in the palm of our hands, but it takes turning away to truly look at the effects they have.
- Erin C. (She/her), Sophomore
I am worried about classes, schedules, friends, and experiences. Where the heck is the library? How many pages is that essay supposed to be? These are all things I wish, and expect, to worry about.
Worrying about whether I will gain 15 pounds from my time here at Hamline is not a weight I wish to bear.
During my freshman year, I hope to lower my hands. I hope to relax my shoulders and exhale, knowing that no one is staring or whispering.
- Serena X. (She/her), First-Year
*Khazan, Olga. "The Origin of the 'Freshman 15' Myth." the Atlantic, 6 Sept. 2014.
^"Statistics & Research on Eating Disorders." National Eating Disorders Association, 8 May 2020.