Male students are bigger food theives than female students (research finds)

Almost half (44%) of students in the UK admit to having food stolen from their housemates whilst at university, with many students (12%) turning to booby traps to prevent theft, a survey by refridgerator company Husky Retail has found.

Over half (63%) of 18-24 year-olds surveyed said they have had food stolen from their fridge at university.

Men bigger thieves than women

Male students were more likely than women to steal from their housemates. 47% of men said they "borrowed" food whilst only 41% of female students admitted to it.

The survey questioned the nation on its food stealing habits at University to see what lengths students go to in order to store and protect their food.

The top 10 cities for food thieves

  1. Belfast (71%)
  2. Dublin (55%)
  3. London (51%)
  4. Leeds (50%)
  5. Birmingham (45 %)
  6. Glasgow (45.3%)
  7. Edinburgh (42.1%)
  8. Cardiff (42%)
  9. Liverpool (41%)
  10. Bristol (39%)

Belfast came out the worst with 71% of students admitting to taking someone else’s food, followed by Dublin (55%) and London (50%). Students in Norwich are the most trustworthy with only 32% claiming to have had food taken from their fridge.

The top five methods students use for protecting their food

  1. Labelling items with their names (40%)
  2. Bought a fridge for their room (31%)
  3. Bought a lock for their cupboard (24%)
  4. Left a warning note (i.e. Hands off!) (23%)
  5. Counted/measured items (18%)

Students are resorting to buying their own mini fridges for their bedrooms to store their chilled foods in – as milk (62%), butter (36%) and cheese (35%) were some of the most common items to be stolen.

Some students are also resorting to setting up booby traps to catch their housemates in the act when it comes to taking food that isn’t theirs. Some examples from the survey included ‘putting laxatives in food or licking food’, ‘replacing milk with white paint’ and ‘disguising salted water as a bottle of beer’.