Student nurses leading unhealthy lifestyles

NEARLY half the women studying nursing in Cork are overweight and a quarter smoke, a new survey shows.

Less than 2% take folic acid, despite Government efforts to encourage women to take the vitamin, which can prevent neural tube defects during pregnancy.

The survey findings were described as “staggering” by Anna O’Leary of University College Cork’s (UCC) school of nursing and midwifery, who conducted the research into the eating and drinking habits of young college women.