Despite the stereotypes of living on beer, black coffee and baked beans, students are actually a lot more active than we give them credit for, with almost a half of UK students belonging to a gym, according to new research.

Youth media brand Student Beans’ annual health and fitness survey – which examined the fitness habits of 1,259 university students across the UK, between May and June 2014 – threw up some surprising results. It found that 46 per cent of respondents belong to a gym – compared to a 13.2 per cent penetration rate across the wider population – with the main deterrent for non-members being the price, rather than unwillingness to engage in activity.

The survey found that 85 per cent of all students surveyed spend at least one hour per week exercising regularly, with just over one quarter (27 per cent) doing between three and four hours of exercise, while 23 per cent do more than five hours of exercise per week. The results suggest at least half of students are meeting the CMO guidelines for 19-64 year-olds of at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week, although the self-reporting of data could mean that exercise levels are being overestimated.

Students surveyed said their main motivation for physical activity was the health and fitness benefits (45 per cent), closely followed by the advantages of looking good (38 per cent), with only 17 per cent motivated by the actual enjoyment of the exercise.

Perhaps less surprisingly, technology plays a large role in the physical activity habits of today’s students. Just over half (55 per cent), had taken to social media to post about about exercise they’d done, while 27 per cent had taken a selfie in the gym and shared the photo. In addition, 30 per cent of respondents use fitness and workout DVDs, 13 per cent use fitness and workout games on a Nintendo Wii console or Xbox, and one third (33 per cent) use fitness apps.

There have been several efforts to boost activity levels among students in recent months. A recent Sport England campaign to get more university students playing sport will see a total of 54 universities share £10m worth of grants, while ukactive recently partnered with the British University & Colleges Sports (BUCS) to deliver a new fitness initiative promoting 5k runs.