Essay Four: Proposing a Solution

Michael Foreman

November 9, 2015

Proposing a Solution

 

Fighting the Fat

 

The so called “freshman fifteen” myth is real.  Freshman fifteen is a huge problem on campuses throughout America today.   A new study from WebMD shows that nearly 1 in every 4 freshman gain at least 5% of their body weight during the first semester of college.  That is an average of about 10 lbs. in that 16 weeks.  The study is taken with 159 students enrolled at a mid-sized university.  Each student’s weight was measured at the beginning and the end of the fall semester.  At the end of the study, each student filled out some kind of survey that discussed their diet, physical activity, and other health related habits during high school and the first semester of college.  The results of the study spoke the truth.  The study found that the average amount of weight gain was 3.3 lbs.  Also, 23% of the students gained at least 5% of their body weight and none lost that amount.  Those who had gained weight reported less physical activity and bad eating habits.  With students getting that little bit of freedom it really gives them the choice to make their own decision on what they eat and what they do on a daily basis.  Knowing this, I’ve come up with a solution for your poor college student to stay healthy and fit as easy and as cheap as possibly.

The last thing that a college kid wants to do is throw away their body figure.  So my solution will be a very good way to put an end to this awful freshman fifteen.  First off the product is going to be a basic app on your phone that is automatically installed into your phone once you enroll at Bowling Green State University called “Fighting the Fat”.  When it’s opened, it’s going to pop into a calendar which then you click on the days date and it will go all into detail for everything you need on that day.  You can put in your schedule for the week and it could track your location to show the distance you walked.  When you click on the days date, it will bring up the amount of physical activity that is required for that day and also it will bring up a desired meal of the food that is provided on that day so you can go to the those all-you-can eat buffets on campus and eat better than all the junk food that is stocked up in your room.  It can send alerts to remind you for such things as time to eat, starting your walk to class, as well as letting you know it’s time to do something active.  When an alert pops up to remind you it’s time to eat, you will open it and it will bring up all the information for what is healthy to eat for the time of day.  It will show information on how big the serving sizes should be and also show calorie intake.  It will also be connected with your meal plan and the closest places to eat and will give you options on made up meals of the food that is provided on that day.  It will set times for snacks as well so you’re not eating ten minutes before you go to bed or chomping on those late night study snacks.  When an alert pops up about walking to and from class, a start button will trigger when you start walking for than 10 ft.  When you reach the desired destination it will then tell you how many calories and fat was burned.  Sometimes, it will randomly pop up to tell you to take the stairs instead of the elevator to get that extra little burn by walking the steps.  When an alert pops up about physical activity, you will open it and the type of physical activity they want you to do.  You can set it yourself to personal options whether you want you go to the gym every day or could set other options such as going for a run, biking, or even just walking.  More options within the app will show 50 different dorm meals you can make if you don’t feel like walking to any place to get food or just need a quick meal before class.  It will be based on healthy foods so you can still eat well while you’re in your dorm.  It will also have a scheduled sleep time for you as well.  It will take the time of your first class or time you want to be awake and make sure you get the right amount of sleep.  The app lasts as long as you are enrolled here at BGSU and no training is needed besides what the app has in store.  The app would be free for everyone in any app store on any of your handheld devices, not just BGSU students.  There’s no known solutions that have been created to help fight the freshman fifteen but all the known factors that there are that make you gain the weight are all covered in my simple phone app.  This app will only work if you are determined to protect your body figure.

No matter what the solution is, you’re always going to have someone or something argue back with your new idea.  The app will only work if you put the effort into it.  You will get all kinds of people that will tell you “my body is fine already, I don’t need the app”.  Don’t have that attitude.  If you have that attitude, you’re most likely the 23% of the study that gains 5% of their body weight in the first semester of your college life.  It’s always nice to keep in good shape and stay healthy anyways, no matter what your body looks like.  This solution I’m proposing could easily defeat the whole problem of nearly 2.1 billion of the obese individuals in the world if it is used as it’s supposed to.  I also expect my audience to raise the idea of there being other apps out there that could help as well.  There right but they wouldn’t have all the features in one.  Instead of having all the stress in using the wrong app and loading up your storage with multiple apps, it will all be feature in my one app plus more.

Now this app isn’t just going to take the weight away from you on its own.  You have to be able to apply yourself and be determined to not gain the weight and keep your body figure.  This app is going to be super helpful as it would be very easy to use as it would be applied to your daily schedule and for all those people that aren’t so up to par with today’s technology.  Also the app can be used for other reasons past preventing freshman fifteen.  If your body isn’t in the best shape or where you want it to be, this app will also get you active and lose all the fat that you don’t want and get you back into the healthier you.  Try it, it’s free.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

“Fighting the Freshman 15: College Weight Gain Is Real.” WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.

Freshman Fifteen.” Fighting the Freshman Fifteen. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.

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