Students in the south east of England gain the most weight in their first year

Study showed that students gained around ten pounds on average

Pizzas can be high in fat (Getty Images )

Nearly half of all students reported gaining weight during their first year at university, with institutions in the south east putting on the highest average weight of over eleven pounds.

Students at Oxford, Reading, Brighton and Kent reported the biggest weight gain of an average of 11.8 lbs with universities in the south west, including Bath, Exeter and Bristol, having the next greatest weight gain of 11.7 lbs.

Alongside the weight gain, eight out of ten students said they felt unable to concentrate as a result of their poor diet with 13 per cent admitted to feeling low and tired because of their poor diet.

The admissions come from an Upbeat, the high protein dairy drink, survey earlier this year of 1,000 students in the UK.

Conducted in August, the survey reveals students’ bad eating habits, including information that nearly half of the students surveyed, 47 per cent, arrived at university intending to survive on a diet consisting mostly of refined carbohydrates and sugar - in other words, white pasta, pizza and items such as doughnuts.

The majority of students - around 60 per cent - also admitted they were more likely to skip breakfast than any other meal, with one in nine claiming they skip the morning meal every day.