Researchers at the University of Maryland are putting vending machine products under the microscope, so to speak. In a study of college student eating habits, 49 vending snacks were analyzed by the research team, which found between 93 and 100 percent of the snacks to be unhealthy, Diamondback Online reports.
Researcher Kavitha Sankavaram and her team analyzed snacks from the 20 highest revenue-generating machines on the college’s campus.
To determine healthiness, the scientists used two tools including the Nutrition Environment Measurements Survey-Vending which analyzed products based on total calories, sugar and sodium, calories from fat, saturated fats, trans fats, and another tool called the Health Density Vending Machine Audit Tool which considered fiber, calcium, iron, etc.
“There is increasing concern on how vending machines are contributing to obesity,” Sankavaram told the news source.
