Story 8

For most college students the “freshman 15” whey’s heavily on their minds. The “freshman 15” is the slang term used for the weight gained by first-year college students.

One way to avoid the extra weight gain is exercise. In a recent survey of 19 Anoka-Ramsey Community College (ARCC) students 52.6 percent said that they exercise five-to-six times per week and 21.1 percent said they exercise every day. Three students of the 19 surveyed said they exercise three-to-four times per week, while three more of the students said they exercise one-to-two times each week. The data shows that ARCC students are on average, active about five times each week.

The data of the survey also shows that 57.9 percent of students that are physically active exercise for more than one hour. 21.1 percent work out for exactly one hour and four of the 19 surveyed exercise for 30 minutes or less. “I like to work out for about 2 hours,” said Andy Pearson of Burnsville, Minn., “I really enjoy feeling the burn.”

Exercise can be done just about anywhere. 11 of the students surveyed said that they prefer to exercise in a gym or outside, while the other eight surveyed said they prefer to be physically active while playing sports. “It doesn’t matter how you exercise, as long as you’re doing it,” said Kyle Fuechtmann of Lino Lakes, Minn. “I just like to run, play football with my friends in the backyard or maybe baseball, but the gym just isn’t for me.” Each individual person is different and needs to find their niche for exercise or working out.

17 of the 19 students surveyed thought that having an exercise partner would help. “A work out partner helps because they give you more competition so you work harder,” said Pearson. Exercising with another person could be beneficial to make it more fun; while jogging or walking outside, many people enjoy talking to a friend. “I run with my buddies all the time,” said Fuechtmann, “it helps me forget about the run and just to let it happen.”

James Jechort, a freshman at the University of Minnesota said, “My physics Prof. once told me, the freshman 15 is result of the temptations college offers. Students are on their own and free to eat what they want, when they want it.” Students that can exercise enough to compensate for the over-eating will avoid the feared “freshman 15”.