Tv3 to show athlone students living on beer and chips with e coli in their microwave

The lifestyles of four Athlone IT students will come under the spotlight on a TV3 programme next Monday.

The fifth episode of TV3's 'Doctor in the House' will focus on the four students in their 20s - Padraig Mohan, Paddy Rooney, Conor Byrne and Brian Maguire - who share a house beside Athlone IT.

During the programme the doctors who visit the house highlight the dangers of binge drinking and fatty diets, and also discover E. coli growing in the students' much-loved microwave.

The 'Doctor in the House' team includes Dr. Nina Byrnes, Dr. Sinead Beirne and Professor Niall Moyna.

Produced by Independent Pictures in conjunction with the BAI, the series aims to get households across Ireland thinking about their lifestyle and how they drastically alter their long term health for the better by introducing a number of changes to their everyday life.

In this episode, the doctors dip their toes back in the waters of student life and find serious health issues with hygiene, sexual health, poor diets and binge drinking.

They learn that Conor has a family history of heart problems and is concerned for his own cardiac health. Brian is addicted to sugar and video games, while Paddy is the healthiest in this not-so-healthy student house.

Dr. Nina Byrnes discovers E. coli growing in their much loved microwave and sends a swab to the lab to see how dangerous it is.

“It grew a very heavy growth of bacteria called E. coli. At the very severe end of E. coli, there’s a particular strain of E. coli that can cause kidney failure and death and that was growing in your microwave. They’re the kind of bacteria you would usually see growing in a toilet,” she says.

Professor Niall Moyna ups the ante and gives the students an exercise programme that will challenge their strength, power, speed and overall aerobic fitness, but can they live up to his expectations?

Each of the students is tested and trained to their limits as they follow an eight-week lifestyle overhaul. At the end of the eight weeks, the students are re-tested, but will the changes they’ve made be reflected in their results?

‘Doctor in the House’ episode 5 airs on Monday next, November 10, at 9pm on TV3.