As per a new Australian study, university students are living on baked beans and two-minute noodles to save money, which is consequently putting their health at risk. Such cash-strapped students who neglect their diets are more prone to develop chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease, as per the researchers Dr. Danielle Gallegos and Kai Wen Ong.

About 811 Brisbane-based university students were surveyed. The results were quite astonishing, as they showed that one in four had experienced 'food insecurity'. About two thirds of the surveyed students were eating less than two serves of fruit per week. About 6% revealed that they were frequently hungry.

The study also found out that about 50% of the students belonged to a family, where the household income was $600 a week before tax. Nicholas Cocks, who is a third-year Griffith University medical student, survives on $300 a week, which includes $200 from Centrelink assistance and the rest of the money he earns from his part-time tutoring job.

Mr. Cocks paid a rent of $90 every week and after paying other bills like the internet, phone and fuel, sometimes he was left with a mere $50, which forced him to resort to a 'noodle diet'.