STUDENTS and staff at the University of Hertfordshire have adopted healthy habits to kick start their new year.

Posters promoting healthy lifestyles have been out up around the Hatfield campus as part of the campaign run by Hertfordshire Sports Village and onsite caterers Food Hertfordshire.

One poster, which appears in the university restaurant, lists the benefits of wholemeal bread while another suggests choosing salad rather than chips can help diners meet the Government’s target to eat five portions of fresh fruit and veg a day.

Another of the eight campaign posters has been put up by the lifts, suggesting taking the stairs to the upper floors is a simple way to improve fitness while a further poster encourages students to walk to the campus rather than take a bus.

Hertfordshire Sports Village project officer for sport, health and wellbeing Rhian Crawford said: “The idea is that the posters are portable so that they can be moved around the campus and be put in places at the point where people are about to make a decision which is less healthy for them such as choosing what to have for lunch or whether to take the lift to a lecture.

“FoodHertfordshire is going to monitor the impact of the campaign in the canteen and see whether it has influenced people’s food choices.”

The campaign is linked to the government’s Change 4 Life initiative which urges people to adopt a healthy diet and exercise more.