Kincade Stalun

Dr. Blackburn

RC 1000

23 October 2019

Research-Based Argument: Documentary

Opening Hook: Hello Welcome to Appalachian State University, located in Boone, North

Carolina. This beautiful mountainous campus is in the heart of the blue ridge parkway and the

appalachian mountains. Just picture this, It’s your first semester here in Boone, your parents just

finished helping you set up your room and they gave you their final good-byes and it is your first

major time away from home, you are anxious to meet new friends, and nervous to begin the

classes that will determine the rest of your life. Wow, it's just all so new to you and hitting you

all at once. Man what things can I possibly do in this new place?!? You could maybe join a

couple clubs, you could do an intramural sport, you can go hiking, or go to the dining hall and try

out all the food options there! I mean lets be real, how convenient is it to have a Chick fil-a right

in the middle of the biggest dining hall on campus? I mean who can resist those delicious

original chick fil-a sandwiches oh and those golden brown waffle fries? You must be hungry

now thinking about that. Not even to mention there are so many other food options all around

campus to choose from! There is a whole new world of food for you at your fingertips and just

one swipe away on your AppCard. Man this is what college is right?! Being free of your parents

not telling you to come home for curfew and being able to do whatever you wish and eat

anything you want whenever you want from doordash or those late night study sessions with
your friends and eating dominos at 2 in the morning. Wow I could really go for some Domino's

pizza right now.

Introduction: Whoa ok, I got a little too distracted. All that food sounds amazing right?

The unfortunate truth is, weight gain is a very real thing. I don’t know if you heard about this but

there’s this thing called the freshman 15, that thing our parents, our uncles and other older people

warn us about. They tell us that we can enjoy ourselves now since we’re “young” and we can

“eat whatever we want since we’re young, active, and can burn off any calories instantly.” Ok

sure, uncle Tony, but that won’t stop me from enjoying myself at the dining hall. I mean it's not

real right? Especially at App! I mean were in the mountains and there's so many hills, it's pretty

much a workout in itself and I have an eight am calculus class that’s a mile away on the other

side of campus, surely it won't affect me. It's not always the case. The freshman 15 is a very real

thing. No matter how fast your metabolism is and how much you walk around campus and here's

the scary part. The University is directly contributing to you gaining 15 pounds and they are

purposely making you gain 15 pounds. Ok, that was a little intense, but what I actually mean is

that there are some key factors that contribute to the freshman 15 and weight gain that the

university strategically sets up and markets off of that you haven’t had time to notice. Based on a

recent study conducted by Heidi J Wengreen, a professor of nutrition at Utah State University,

they found that nearly 25 % of students gained an average of 10 pounds during their first

semester at college.
 Throughout this video, you, an Appalachian State University student will learn more

about the freshman 15 and what you can do to avoid it and some healthier choices to choose

from and when it is ok to eat junk food in moderation.

Ok let's say you’re going to Central to get something for lunch, you walk into the dining

hall and you get blasted by the smell of all different types of foods. You decide to eat on the

lower level. Now, take 5 seconds to decide what you’re gonna eat. (5 seconds later). Ok, figured

it out? If you’re like most App State students, you probably would’ve said “chick fil-a chicken

sandwich, waffle fries, sweet-tea and chick fil-a sauce.” Come on, I know you can’t resist it. I

mean everyone gets Chick fil-a at least once in the dining hall. How convenient is it that

everyone’s favorite restaurant is in the middle of the biggest dining hall on campus? Everyone

would think that would be a no brainer to put the most popular fast food chain in the center of a

college campus.

Well, the university had that idea too. If you think about it, what is the main reason for

putting a Chick fil-a in a dining hall and jacking up the prices of the sandwiches and fries

without you even knowing? Because, it is a strategic marketing strategy to maximize profits for

the food services and the university. Now think, why would a Chick fil-a sandwich be $5 on

campus compared to the same sandwich being $3.55? It’s the convenience factor, that you’re not

going out of your way to drive to the Chick fil-a off campus when it is all right there for the

taking. Along with that, the university loads up the dining hall with all other kinds of high sugar

and fat foods. An example would be all the cookies and deserts they place in between different
food venues and right before the check out. So that way, when you are gonna pay for your food,

you feel drawn in to spend more money on a delicious double chocolate chunk cookies. The

dining hall also has many options that ring in the calories. Examples: the bacon cheeseburger

from Mountaineer Grille: 595 calories, chicken tenders: 185 calories for 4 pieces, pizza: 285

calories per slice, french fries: 365 calories for 1 medium serving and last but not least, cinnamon

roll: 284 calories per 1 bun (USDA). The calories slowly add up over time depending on your

metabolism and how much you work out. Nevertheless, there are healthier options that are

offered at the dining halls. There is the salad bar, that offers lettuce, kale, and spinach with other

toppings and dressing to put on your salad. But be careful with which dressing you choose.

Because some dressings are not very good for you. Ranch is probably one of the worst ones. Fun

fact: Ranch’s two main ingredients are sour cream and mayonnaise. Yea, think about that the

next time you put it on a salad. But of course, be mindful of what you choose to be healthy.

There are also other healthier options and alternatives that Appalachian gives to us all around

campus and off campus. There’s Cascades and their awesome fruit smoothies with each

smoothie having its own motivational speech listed on the menu to “boost your day” and the cafe

located inside the Leon Levine Health Sciences building that offers many healthier options such

as vegan wraps, turkey sandwiches and chicken paninis. Which are also conveniently set up for

you on your way to class to grab a bite and spend your money at those designated locations. To

help take advantage of those opportunities, make sure you make smarter decisions about how

much you consume a certain food a week to best avoid the freshman 15 and choose something

new and healthy each time you go to eat.

 Here I am going to interview a handful of freshman students and see what their take is on

the freshman 15 and what they're doing about it.

Question one: How many times a day do you go to the dining hall?

Question two: What is your favorite food to get at the dining hall?

Question three: How often do you go to different food venues at Central? (ex. Chick fil-a.

WrAPPs, Mountaineer Grille)

Question four: Do you feel like you’ve gained weight since you got to App State?

Question five: How often do you stop at the salad bar to eat during the week?

Question six: Are you motivated to try to eat healthier when you’re at the dining hall?

Question seven: How often do you go to workout or to the Student Recreation Center?

Based on the results I got back from the questions. I found out that 15 out of the 20

students I randomly surveyed, 75% did or doesn’t care about what they eat. 65% have gained

weight since they have gotten here and 15% eat healthy on a regular basis.

A recent study from Leslie Lytle, a professor at the University of North Carolina, shows

how she concluded through a 24 month study that analyzed 441 students from community

colleges in Minnesota who took a course on healthy living, saw that there was an 8% reduction

in obese individuals after 1 semester in the class. So take advantage of nutrition and health

classes while you’re in college to better understand ways to be in better health.

 There are also some things you can do/change to beat the freshman 15 in college and

create new routines.

- Don’t skip breakfast

- Stock up on healthy snacks in your dorm

- Don’t drink too much beer, because beer = calories

- Limit how much you eat out/fast food

- Workout or do physical activity every other day

- Make friends and try to engage in intramural sports

- Try a workout class during designated days of the week at Quinn Recreation

Center

- Avoid eating late at night

- Have a structured schedule of days you should eat healthy and days when you

have a cheat meal

- Don’t gorge yourself on food, eat in proportion

- Avoid bored or emotional snacking

Now the fate lays on the college student here at App. Will you join the rest of the crowd

and succumb to weight gain during the first semesters at college? Or will you prevail and defy

the stereotype of the freshman 15 and choose healthier options to eat when dining at central and

other places around campus? The choice is yours.

Sources:
 Bovard, James, ​Starvation issues in Universities? The real college problem is obesity.

USA Today. April 11, 2018.

Brissette, Christy, ​How to avoid the ‘freshman 15’,​Washington Post, September 26, 2017

Lytle, Leslie, ​Obesity prevention education has positive impact on college students, study

finds.​ UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. December 19, 2016.

Marcason, Wendy, ​8 ways to beat the freshman 15,​ Eat Right, January 20, 2019

Scott, Elizabeth, ​What Causes the Freshman 15?,​ Very Well Mind, September 10, 2019

Warner, Jennifer. “Freshman 15: College Weight Gain Is Real.” ​WebMD​, WebMD, 28

July 2009.