Healthy eating goes as students count cost

The 2010 Sodexo University Lifestyle Survey Video Report from Sodexo Sodexo on Vimeo. A vast majority of students (42%) are changing their diet in order to cut down their spending, including a large number of them skipping meals, according to the 2010 survey, published in association with Times Higher Education. Worryingly, say the authors, it seems that students think eating healthily necessitates spending more money. More than 63% who have changed their diet, due to financial pressures, say this means they are eating less nutritious food as a result. It also appears that students do not have regular eating habits. Almost half of them (46%) miss lunch at least once a week and one in ten (10%) never eats breakfast. Out of all three meals, dinner is the most regular, however, even 17% of students still skip supper at least once a week. Price matters most to students when it comes to eating out with 79% citing this as the key factor when deciding where to buy a meal or snack and quality rated as the second most important factor to 65% of students. Branding was only considered important by 5% of students. Regarding attitudes to healthy eating, 66% of students say they try to eat healthily and only 4% don't worry about the issue at all. The last survey in 2008 showed that there was a growing interest in where and how our food is produced, and on the welfare of farm animals, and although for many students this is still a key issue their concern has waned somewhat. Although more than half (51%) of those asked in 2010 said they care about food being free range, in 2008 the figure was 63%. Thirty seven percent of students want to eat British produce, which is a slight increase from 2008 when 34% cited this as important to them. Fairtrade seems to be the produce which students are losing interest in, with 52% citing this as important in 2008, compared to 36% this year. Farm assured and fish from sustainable fisheries has seen the smallest drop with 44% and 46% in 2008 stating it as important, compared to 35% and 37% (respectively) in 2010. And just over one in five (21%) want to eat organically-grown produce, down from 35% of students who considered it important in 2008. Over two thirds of students cook their own evening meal with a pasta-based dish the top choice (17%), and in particular spaghetti Bolognese which a further 12% of students cited as their favourite dish to cook followed by curry with 9% of students favouring this dish. Usually going hand in hand with a curry is a cold pint of lager but stereotypical 12-hour pub crawls and drinking competitions seem to be becoming rarer. Contrary to popular belief, many students today are not regular drinkers. A quarter of students (23%) do not drink at all, and a further half (49%) drink 10 or less units a week. Today's students are set to leave university in more debt than ever before, with 28% expecting to accumulate debts of over £20,000 by the time they leave - a significant jump from 2004, when 2% predicted they would end up with debts of over £20,000. With the growth in levels of debt, one might have expected more students to be worried about leaving university in the red. In fact, the proportion concerned about the amount of money they will owe when they graduate has dropped from 42% in 2008 to 37%. Evidently, they are becoming more relaxed about significant debt. "With top-up fees adding to the financial pressures students face, it's no wonder they are seeking value for money wherever possible," says Peter Taylor, head of universities for Sodexo. "Learning that students perceive healthy food as more expensive is a real concern to us and it is important that all catering providers deliver a range of meal options to suit every student pocket. By offering good quality foods at a range of prices, universities will be in a great position to entice students to eat healthily and on campus." The Sodexo University Lifestyle Survey was first published in 2004, then in 2006 and 2008,. It