"Freshman 15" -- these two words strike fear in the hearts of incoming college students everywhere, but some health experts are suggesting it is actually seniors and graduate students who are gaining those unneeded pounds.

Melissa Martilotta, director of The Nutrition Clinic and nutrition instructor, sees more upperclassmen and graduate students seeking advice on how to lose weight every year.

"They think to themselves, 'I'm getting ready to go into the real world and I need to lose this weight and look my best,' " she said. "There are quite a few cases of weight gain among seniors and graduate students. We are hardly seeing the freshman 15 cases at all anymore," she said.

While this information shows more and more freshmen are making healthy decisions, misconceptions still exist.

"I heard about the 'freshman 15' and I thought that I was definitely going to gain weight after my first semester," said Christine Cooley (freshman-premedicine).

The majority of college students are aware of weight gain, but few know what some of the main causes can be.

According to Martilotta, overeating and not exercising enough to compensate for the college lifestyle contribute to weight gain.

"They have to make a decision, 'Do I eat or go to class?' or 'Do I go to the gym or study for this test?' " she said.

Weight gain can be as simple as the imbalance of caloric intake and use. The number one cause of weight gain is the lack of consistency in exercise and diet, which often occurs while in college, explained Martilotta.

John McGarrity (freshman-engineering) attributes collegiate weight gain to other circumstances.

"Inactivity and too many of those high-carbohydrate beverages tend to contribute to weight gain," he said.

The lack of parental input contributes the most to weight gain, said Christie Krauss (junior-marketing).

"When [students] come here they have no restriction on what they eat, no parental restriction, and they are not making healthy choices because no one is making the choices for them," she said.

There are ways, according to Martilotta, to lose those extra pounds. One needs to exercise cumulatively for 60 minutes per day, however consistency is the most important aspect of weight loss.

"The exercise that you do must be consistent, you can't run today and do nothing the rest of the week. You have to exercise everyday to increase metabolism and lose weight," she said.

Martilotta further explained consistent eating is also important in the prevention of weight gain.

"You can't eat 4,000 calories on Sunday and balance it by eating 1000 calories on Monday. It doesn't work that way. You're only asking for trouble."