Incoming college freshmen experience a bevy of lifestyle changes. Living on campus means less parental supervision, more adult responsibilities, new living arrangements, an increase in academic and social stressors and a newfound freedom over one’s eating and sleeping habits.

A 2015 article published by biomedcentral.com called “A meta-analysis of weight gain in first year university students: is freshman 15 a myth?” drew data from 32 studies made up of 6,800 freshman students. On average, these students gained an estimated three pounds over the first five months of school, and two-thirds gained an average of seven and a half pounds. That means that about 4,500 students were on track to gain 15 pounds over the course of their freshman year.

Washburn has taken steps to help students combat the dreaded Freshman 15: the The Student Recreational Wellness Center. As funding for the SRWC is already included in tuition, all students have full access to the facility’s amenities in order to stay active and healthy throughout the school year.

A good place to start is by taking advantage of the facility’s free Fitness Assessment, Nutrition Analysis, Exercise Prescription and Smart Start Orientation. These services are free to students and allow for personalized experiences when maintaining physical health, whether that be designing a personalized diet or exercise plan. The SWRC also hosts various health and fitness lectures by guest speakers to educate students on everything from sexual health to mental health.

The SWRC is equipped for students to participate in basketball, volleyball, badminton, indoor soccer and rock climbing year-round. In addition to housing quality exercise equipment and adequate space to casually play sports with friends, the SWRC holds free fitness classes such as yoga, cycling and core strengthening. The SWRC also hosts intramurals for those interested in competitive leagues for sports such as basketball, badminton, table tennis, tennis, flag football, soccer and volleyball.

The SRWC also hosts Bod Buddies, a program which is great for those that are either new to working out or don’t like to be active on their own. Bod Buddies is a contact system that allows you to meet other students with similar interests and goals to contact one another and become work-out partners. who share the same interests as you to contact each other about organizing time to meet up and engage in the activity together. Signing up only takes a few minutes at the facility’s front desk.

Staying active is a great way to avoid the dreaded Freshman 15 and remain healthy throughout one’s life in college. The SWRC offers something for everyone in this endeavor, whether it be working out in the fitness loft, taking a class with a friend, getting a personalized nutrition plan or competing in intramurals. The SWRC is versatile and inclusive. Visit them today and take the steps towards increasing your overall well-being.

Tavin Dugan, [email protected], is a senior Kinesiology major.