Individual’s food choices are strongly influenced by the physical surrounding in which they make them. Health and Wellbeing Queensland is focused on making the healthy option the easy option in all the places Queenslanders spend their time, through implementation of our A Better Choice initiative.
A Better Choice is a policy initiative aimed at enhancing the availability, accessibility, and promotion of nutritious food and drink options for Queenslanders in key public settings.
This initiative is based on the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating and uses a traffic light system to classify products based on their nutritional quality:
GREEN: Best nutritional value
AMBER: Some nutritional value
RED: Limited or no nutritional value
Health and Wellbeing Queensland has established a Healthy Food Environments Hub which offers a series of setting-specific strategies to drive healthy food access in the key places Queenslanders spend their time, including healthcare facilities, sport and recreation facilities, and workplaces. There are plans to expand into other settings in the future. These strategies set targets for the amount of food and drinks that should be available and promoted from each category in the traffic light system, and include tailored guidance, resources, and support to guide key stakeholders through the implementation of A Better Choice.
As part of the development of the Healthy Food Environments Hub, Health and Wellbeing Queensland consulted with Queenslanders about what they want, need, and expect when eating out of home. Overwhelmingly, Queenslanders want readily accessible, affordably priced, nutritious food and beverage choices when buying meals,[1] and A Better Choice addresses this need. Creating health-focused food environments is crucial for public health – people are more likely to choose healthier options when they are enabled and empowered to do so.
[1] The Queensland Consumer Market Research for Food Environment study (2022), Insights Report
Resource submitted by Mathew Dick, Principal Lead, Public Health Nutrition, Health & Wellbeing Queensland
