A Better Choice

Healthy options made easy

Why healthy food environments

The decisions we make about food are so easily influenced by the environments we find ourselves in – the spaces we inhabit, the places we frequent, and the overall conditions of our lives. The availability of food and drink products, where they are positioned in an outlet, how much they cost, and how they are promoted all subtly guide our choices, often without us even realising it. Modern food environments are typically flooded with discretionary products high in saturated fat, sugar, and salt, and these are heavily marketed, especially for children. It is difficult to make a healthy choice in these conditions.

However, research has shown that when food environments offer healthier options, and make them appealing, customers are empowered to purchase these options.

Queenslanders have told us that this is what they want; the power to access easily available, reasonably priced, healthier food and drink options when eating out of home. We spoke to over 1250 Queenslanders and what we heard was:

More than 80% said they want healthy food and drinks for their children at school
63% want healthy food and drinks at hospital food outlets
55% want healthy food and drinks at sports clubs, and
41% want healthy food and drinks at stadiums.

Health and Wellbeing Queensland is leading on A Better Choice, a Queensland first public health approach designed to make it easier for Queenslanders to access healthy food and drink options in places outside the home.

A Better Choice uses the principles of choice architecture to guide consumers towards the healthier options. This initiative ensures that healthier products are easily accessible, strategically placed, promoted, and competitively priced, so that they become the easiest and most obvious choice. It also reduces the availability of less healthy food and drinks while placing limitations on their promotion. These actions empower consumers to look for the healthier options that support their wellbeing.

A Better Choice focuses on promoting food and drinks in line with the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, and uses a traffic light system to classify products according to their nutritional value.

GREEN: Best nutritional value

AMBER: Some nutritional value

RED: Limited or no nutritional value

Health and Wellbeing Queensland is implementing a series of innovative strategies to drive healthy food access in places where Queenslanders purchase food.

The strategies offer setting-specific tips, resources, and support, designed to make healthy options easy.

Each Strategy sets targets around the provision and promotion of food and drinks from each category, to support key stakeholders in creating healthy food environments for their customers.