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Why We Shouldn't Fear The 15

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Her (the) sun

Her (the) sun

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.

You’re living in a place you weren’t living in before. It’s a new transition… It’s a complete 180 in your life and schedule.

- 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.*

I’m eating a lot less healthy because I have the stigma of Freshman 15 in my head already, so it’s causing me to act upon it like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

- 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.

I want to be able to talk about health and fitness and not have it be so focused on shaping and toning your body. I think there is a huge difference between those two conversations. When I feel good, I look good.”

- 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.

Self-image has always been important to me. My mom has always struggled with her weight, so when I grew up I told myself ‘Oh god, I need to be careful’ because it’s such an important thing to her. I thought it was an important thing for everyone!

- 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.

Like other forms of socialization, stigma are consistently reinforced and related by all of the agents of socialization listed here and often without explicit intent or ‘malice.’ This is the reason, of course, that stigmatization is so powerful.

“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.

Way back in middle school there was a huge shift in mental illness, especially females. It affects so much more than just yourself. It affects your relationship with others and so many other things. In a college setting, especially Hamline, I think we are learning and aware of social media.

- 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.

I’m super comfortable with my body! Curvy girl! I came into college totally authentic with who I am.

- 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.

Things have changed! I think no matter what my body shape is, it’s still something that I love. I’ve grown to love it through society and the changes from advocates who promote body positivity.

- 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.

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