Science at UM [S04-ep02]: Students' Food Environment
This week on "Science at UM": Angélique Rodhain and Karine Garcia, researchers at MRM , talk to us about the food environment for students. Sara Cavaliere from theICGM gives us a tour of the fuel cell and electrolysis platform, and Marie Pequignot, Chief Operating Officer of Genopolys presents the Mediterranean Night of Women Researchers. A show airing every Wednesday at 6 p.m. on Divergence FM-93.9.
According to the latest survey by FAGE, the leading student union, 20% of students do not eat enough and skip an average of 3.5 meals per week. Thirty-four percent of them believe they have an unbalanced diet, characterized by the consumption of fatty and sugary foods. Their age group is also the most affected by the rise in obesity. This food insecurity was brought to the public’s attention by the Covid pandemic, prompting the development of initiatives such as the Crous’s €1 meals, which have since been made permanent for students receiving financial aid. And yet this insecurity is nothing new.
As I was preparing this piece, memories of my college days came flooding back. The tram rides to La Paillade to stock up on groceries for the week at what was, at the time, the only affordable supermarket around. The one run by that photographer friend of mine whose job was to capture the contents of students’ fridges. Through her photos, we moved from Alice’s fridge—whose contents revealed a diet consisting exclusively of spaghetti and olive oil—to the rancid smells wafting from Ivan’s, a fan of scavenging through supermarket trash cans, at the cost of a minor bout of food poisoning every three months. Then there was Caroline and her organic vegetable juices, bought at full price at the Biocoop in downtown. Not to mention Yann, a brilliant student who was always in a hurry, living off ready-made meals or sandwiches bought on the go.
These profiles, despite the 20 years that have passed, are not so different from what we find in our guests’ study. Angélique Rodhain and Karine Garcia are both marketing researchers at Montpellier Research in Management. Last July, they published an article in the journal Research Applications in Marketing titled “Food Accessibility: An Approach Based on the Real-Life Experiences of Students Living Away from Home.”
For more information:
- The episode of "A l’UM la science" on different consumer profiles, featuring Andrea Gourmelen, a researcher at the MRM Laboratory: Consumer Profiles, the Library of Legal History, and Courstache
In the second half of the program, we head back to the Balard Chemistry Hub with Sara Cavaliere to recharge our batteries. She gives us a tour of theICGM’s fuel cell and electrolysis platform. Here, energy is converted and stored using hydrogen. These fuel cells are already being used in some cars and could be expanded to other mobility sectors, such as air travel.
Finally, Marie Péquignot, Genopolys’s Chief Operating Officer, introduces us to the Mediterranean Night of Women Researchers, which will take place on Friday, the 27th, from 4:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at Lycée Joffre.
At UM Science, you’ve got the program—let’s get started!
Co-production: Divergence FM / University of Montpellier
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Aline Périault / Lucie Lecherbonnier
Reporting and editing: Lucie Lecherbonnier / Aline Périault
Director: Tom Chevalier
Tune in to the show “A l’UM la science” on Divergence FM 93.9
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