Food on campus is unhealthy
Tilburg University tempts students into unhealthy eating habits, suggests dietician Det Pieters-Van de Graaf, who had a look at the new food services on campus.
According to Pieters-Van de Graaf, there is too much fatty and sugary food for sale in the catering outlets at Tilburg University. That is a health risk because students are not aware of the health risks enough right now. “When this young generation reaches forty, many of them will have diabetes,” the dietician warns.
“In my dietitian practice I see people in their thirties and forties with heart problems, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or type 2 diabetes. ‘I wish I had known earlier what food could do to me,’ they say.”
If it’s up to Pieters Van de Graaf, the government should clearly say that we ban fatty food in schools and at universities. Posters with health warnings in the catering outlets wouldn’t hurt, according to her.
“You have to consider the commercial interest as well as the health factors”, admits Sodexo manager Peter van Bloemendaal. Tilburg University has asked for a basic range of ‘simple’ food for a reasonable price. Sodexo has to pay money to sell its catering services at the university – with selling cheap (fatty) products it can make a profit. “But the canteens shouldn’t turn into a snack bars, we keep the number of snacks limited.” [Ingrid Ramaan/transl. Yvonne Verschuren]
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