Alcohol, pasta and takeaways are all staples of the modern university diet, especially for freshers. New students often fall into the trap of thinking about food only in terms of how much it costs, rather than its nutritional value. But for many, watching their pennies comes at the expense of watching their weight, and weight gain is a side effect of academic life.
When Kirsty Walters arrived home for the first time after starting university, she was startled to see old pictures of herself. Until that point, she'd not really paid attention to her expanding waistline, but looking at the photographs, the difference was clear.
"I'd gained about a stone by the time I came back in the summer. You sort of know you are gaining weight, but you don't bother about it because everyone around you is doing the same thing."
Walters, 20, currently on a sandwich year as part of her marketing management degree at Oxford Brookes, attributes her weight gain to poor diet and a lack of exercise. "I didn't know how to cook so I was eating frozen pizzas and junk food all the time. Our halls were quite far from the town, so we had no access to a gym either."
As well as eating cheap, stodgy food, many students fail to recognise the amount of sugar and calories in alcohol and soft drinks, and don't eat enough fruit and vegetables. A lack of exercise also contributes to the problem.
A summer at home, followed by a move into more centrally located off-campus housing for her second year, helped Walters get back into shape, and she's been able to maintain her normal weight ever since.
For Walters it was a fairly clear-cut case of what's often referred to as "fat fresher syndrome", or "freshman 15" (referring to the 15lb some people gain during their first year). The phenomenon has been widely studied and documented, particularly in America. Research published earlier this month in the science journal Eating Behaviors reported that 63% of 336 female participants in a study at Rutgers University in New Jersey gained weight during their first year. Of those whose weight increased, the average gain was 7.32lb. A separate study at the University of Guelph in Canada found the problem also affected men, who gained an average of 6.6lb during their first year.
Kate Neil, director of the Centre for Nutrition Education, says eating properly is tough for those moving away from home for the first time.
"Food is a huge challenge for youngsters going to university; one, because they haven't got the knowledge; two, because they haven't got the money, and three, because they are in a culture where pizza and pasta and cans of fizzy drink and smoking and alcohol is the norm," she says. "Students often decide to spend money on alcohol and do cheaply on food. But the cheap foods are the breads, the pastas, the cakes, the biscuits and the buns that will fill them up for a bit but then make them hungry again an hour or so later."
Neil advises students to get more protein into their diet, and says simple, cheap dishes like curried beans with rice, baked beans on wholemeal toast, omelettes and pasta with tuna and vegetables can help turn things around.
While some do manage to reverse the damage of their first year, for others, the weight woes continue.
Recent graduate Sarah Vamplew says she struggled with her weight throughout university, having started "comfort eating" shortly after arriving at Canterbury Christ Church University.
"I found university quite difficult in being away from home, and for two years it was pretty much continuous weight gain - I gained over two stones," she says. "I hadn't really thought about eating well and for me it was just a case of what was quick, cheap and easy. I felt horrendous. My self-confidence just went and I didn't care in the end. I realise now I was completely depressed about it but I think I was in denial as well."
After returning to London to complete the last year of her sociology degree, Vamplew joined a slimming programme and lost the weight.
Health psychologist Dr Emma Short, a senior lecturer at the University of Bedfordshire, says for people like Vamplew, food can become a refuge.
"Emotional eating is one aspect of the problem. University is often a time when your identity is changing rapidly; you've moved towns and your priorities in life have changed a great deal and eating disturbances are often connected to periods in life when there is an identity shift.
"There is a lack of monitoring and a disruption of routine and actually people don't know what and when they are eating, whereas before they had their usual mealtimes."
In a minority of students, she says unchecked weight gain can lead to more serious problems. "It is the lack of control and the feeling of panic about eating that is associated with emotional distress or the beginning of an eating problem."
Mary George, of eating disorder charity Beat, says students generally fall within the most common age range for eating disorders, and university stress can make them more vulnerable.
"Eating disorders generally develop as a way of coping with difficult thoughts, emotions or experiences, and a move away from home to a new and different environment could certainly trigger the illness."
For most students, though, their weight problems are occurring at a much more basic level and preventative action is needed.
If you're clueless when it comes nutrition, consider signing up for any healthy eating lectures offered at your university. Diet advice is usually offered at campus health facilities as well as gyms, and there's certainly no shortage of information available on the internet. If you're hoping to finish your first year in the same sized jeans you wore when you started, the key is trying to eat a balanced diet from day one.
