Variance in the Freshman 15

This study analyzed the variance in weight gain in Freshman. I don't really know what "variance" is, but contextually it makes sense that this would mean where the weight gain can be attributed to. It says that 20% of the variance can be attributed to buffet style dining halls, 20% to snacking on high fat foods, and the 48% to differences in the number of snacks and meals throughout the day.

The freshman weight gain: a model for the study of the epidemic of obesity

http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v28/n11/abs/0802776a.html

First, this study confirms that the amount of weight gain during freshman year far exceeds the norm. Thus, to avoid this phenominon we need to consider two factors: buffet style dining and high fat snacking. Both of these are within the dining hall's power to manipulate.