Students remain sceptical of a government scheme set up to display calorie counts of meals bought in fast food restaurants.

The plan, announced on April 6 by Minister for Public Health, Dawn Primarolo, will see 18 catering companies, including Burger King, Pizza Hut and KFC, displaying calorie information on their menus.

A statement posted on the Food Standard Agency’s website said the move: “will benefit individuals trying to choose a healthier diet,” though university students remain unsure. Out of 25 Kingston students asked, only 3 said they would read the given information.

Safa Ali Safa, 21, a third-year studying computer science, believes that although the scheme has been launched with good intention, it is unlikely to stop students from eating out. He said: “It’s a good idea and will help you keep track of what you eat, though I’m not sure if I’d want to know how many calories are in my food.”

Kingston Environmental Health Service, however, has praised the government plan, saying “anything that has extra content labelling is a good idea,” as it will help young people to “stay aware of what they are consuming and stay healthy.”

Katherine Yardley-Turpin, of Avenance catering, the company in charge of the food stores at KU, also expressed her support. She said: “We whole heartedly support good nutritional information being available and it is a great idea to allow customers to make decisions based on facts that could help their health.”

Ms Yardley-Turpin added that Avenance already runs a similar scheme called BALANCE, which incorporates an “easily recognisable flagging system into the daily menu choice which illustrates the positive health benefits of key dishes.”

Companies are set to begin displaying calorie information in their restaurants at the end of the month, despite objections from critics who believe fat, salt and sugar levels should also be shown.

Lucia Ciocan, 24, who used to work as a shift manager at Mc Donald’s, believed it was only a matter of time before such a scheme spread to all fast food chains: “I think it has taken so long for them to catch on because they didn’t want anyone to know what they were eating.”

Mrs Ciocan added that even if only one person took notice of the information, it would be enough to call the government plan a success. She said: “Some people will think ‘this food is not good for me’ and not eat it, which is definitely a sign the scheme is working.”