So, how healthy are your uni snacks?

Universities across the UK are continuing to sell junk food on campus despite increasing obesity levels throughout the country.

The UK has been experiencing higher levels of obesity than ever before and a big concern is the high sugar content in everyday food and drinks. According to research by gov.uk, 58% of women and 68% of men were overweight or obese in 2015. As a result, the government is trying to impose plans to reduce obesity.

However, universities and schools are seen to promote processed and junk food over healthy meals. Brunel University London has eight food outlets on site where two are coffee shops, one is a small supermarket and the remaining are fast food restaurants. While the campus does hold a fresh fruit and veg market, this only happens once a week and students claim it is overpriced.

Being away from home and having little heathy sites on campus, students find it very difficult to maintain a healthy weight. Student, Elliot Sisson, age 21, Motorsport Engineering, said: “I have a lot of lectures for my course so I tend to just pick something up on the way so I usually pop in to Broosters or Costa as it’s fast”.

James Budkiewicz, Assistant Director, Commercial Services at Brunel, said: “Brunel is extremely aware of the effects a poor diet has on a person’s wellbeing and can lead to a wide range of health problems. Brunel serve more than one thousand meals every day and consider it our responsibility to help our consumers, staff and students, to eat a healthy, nutritious diet.”

Mr Budkiewicz adds that they ensure the food outlets are “continuously reviewing recipes to make them healthier, and looking for opportunities to switch in different ingredients with fewer calories and less salt or fat. We also encourage people to eat more fruit and veg through our nutrition education initiatives.”

Brunel isn’t the only university to sell which favours junk food. Faye Cotterill, age 21 from Canterbury University, said: “I would say there are probably more junk food options than healthy options. When I walk into the canteen or café in the library, the first thing I see is all the crisps and chocolate and that’s all I ever buy. If I wanted to eat healthy I don’t know what I would pick because they have only a few pieces of fruit and a couple of salads”.