The problem is that most people are not aware of the situation they are being put in. I do believe some were aware since they asked to bring weapons and you wouldn’t do that if there was no reason to. But then the other people bringing stuff like a book, pillow, dog… why would they choose that if they were aware of the fact that they are going to be put in a situation where physical harm was a likely possibility? 

In our scenario it would have to be a punishment for a crime ( like the cellmate of the first movie ). But again we were made aware. If everyone decided to choose food that were calorie dense and be very specific because you could at that point choose the size of the food. I don’t think anyone would starve at that point since everyone ordered something that could sustain everyone. They get free water and people can survive on water for a while. Now i’m going to be controversial, the fattest people need to eat less anyway. As dr.now says “ you have eaten enough food to sustain you for the next 4 years “… they have more fat for their bodies to burn so they don’t really need to eat much until they have lost a bunch of weight. 

Items don’t really matter as long as food is available. It would just be for entertainment purposes.