Freshman Orientation Sessions Can Teach Incoming Students about Healthful Lifestyles

This GEM describes the ''Freshman 15 Jeopardy'' workshop, a 30-minute nutrition education session aimed to expose incoming college freshmen to the college food environment, to increase their awareness of factors that cause weight gain, and to instruct them on lifestyle choices they could employ to prevent weight gain. This short workshop has not been formally evaluated to determine changes in student knowledge or behavior, but program evaluation indicated overall ratings between good and excellent, and informal assessment indicated participants enjoyed the workshop, remarked how much they learned, and expressed their appreciation for the exposure to practical nutrition and physical activity information.