Avoiding the Freshmen 15 can be difficult for incoming Ohio State students.Freshmen 15 is the name given to the weight gain experienced by some students in the first year of college. According to Dr. Shirley Kindrick, nutritionist at the OSU Wellness Center, students “leaving the comfort of home and a well-balanced diet, eating dormitory foods, and being in control of their own lives contribute to the way they pick up weight.”OSU students readily admit that gaining weight comes from changes in their eating habits and food choices. Njabu Massaquoi, a junior in journalism, says that her weight gain comes when “I order pizza and chicken wings and all that good stuff that I did not eat at home. At home, I ate at least three square meals a day with some vegetables. But here, every time I put something into my mouth it is fattening.”Kindrick identifies two specific sources that enhance students’ appetite for fattening foods. “The cafeteria offers many choices including plenty of starches that tend to fill up students quickly and are easy to grab. Added to this is the accessibility of vending machines.Then, there are the weekend parties and beer that students consume. And for those who are not necessarily party animals, studying and becoming more sedentary makes it easy to gain weight.”Gaining weight as freshmen seems to affect females more than males. Kindrick reports than females tend to gain more weight than men because men tend to be more athletic during college. Nevertheless, both male and female students take exercising seriously.Harold Joshua, a freshman, says that he eats two meals a day, plus junk food, but he goes to the gym every morning. Another freshman, Dawn Barber, who lives at home says, “I eat my mom’s food and a balanced meal, but I bring triskettes and sandwiches because I am always hungry. I am eating more now that I am attending college, but I am balancing it with exercise.”Massaquoi also mentions that she is trying to improve her eating habits and has been exercising. “My girlfriends and I have been going to the Jesse Owens Center across from the dorm and working out on the tread mill and using some weights.Exercising and eating a low-fat diet is good, according to Kindrick. But she also notes that students get a false sense of security from the practice of eating low-fat foods and then eating ice cream, pizza, beer as a reward for consuming less calories on the weekend.It is important for students to plan a good balanced diet, Kindrick noted. “It is boring, but the food pyramid guide is a good way to plan a diet,” she said.The food guide pyramid is created by the Federal Government as a guideline for a healthy, balanced diet. Starches are at the base of the pyramid. Traveling upward you have fruits and vegetables, then dairy and meat products, and at the top of the pyramid, you have fats, oils and sweets.This doesn’t mean that you can’t have pizza which is at the top of the pyramid, but students should plan the meal, Kindrick said.Students should try to incorporate fruits and vegetables into their snacks, Kindrick said. If a student doesn’t have a refrigerator, Kindrick recommends that they try dried fruit. She explains that a can of V-8 juice is equivalent to a serving of vegetables.Kindrick admits that it is hard to plan a balanced diet when you are having fun and studying hard, but how well you take care of your health really depends on how well you plan your meals.