1. Factors influencing consumer use of the Heart Foundation Tick Sue Williams, PhD. Institute for Health and Social Science Research CQUniversity Queensland, Australia

2. Aim of the Heart Foundation Tick Calcium Dietary fibre /Vegetables /Wholegrains Protein % Ingredients Dietary fats Sodium Energy density Serving sizes... when compared with foods within the same category

3. Background HF responds to ‘call for help’ to meet healthy eating targets outlined in the ADG 1988-1993 Tick program launched 1989 FSANZ: mandatory Nutrition Information Panels 2001 9/10 shoppers intend to shop using Tick in next 12 months 2004 78 companies/1000+ healthier food choices displaying Tick 2006 93-97% aware of Tick 69-76% trust Tick 2005-2008 75% have used the Tick 80% believe Tick provides a healthier option 2008 Reference: Heart Foundation of Australia (2009), Heart Foundation Tick: Two decades of helping Australians choose healthier foods

4. Aims of study To understand the effectiveness of the Tick program in terms of health and healthy nutrition Australian Health & Social Science Study Project National online panel survey (October 2009) “Exploring attitudes towards nutritional information” Research questions: Which consumers use the tick? What other factors are associated with use of the tick?

5. Questions How often, while grocery shopping, do you look for the HF Tick symbol/logo? Demographics Age (5 categories) Education (3 categories) Gender Living area (city OR rural/town) Health conditions CHD Diabetes Mellitus Hypertension BMI Food behaviours Fruit intake/day Veg intake/day Red meat intake/week Processed meat intake/week Salt after cooking Fast foods/week

6. Statistical analysis Conducted in 2010 PASW Statistics 18.0 Descriptive statistics by gender Binomial logistic regression by gender Respondents who frequently (regularly/often) used the HF Tick

7. Use of Heart Foundation Tick N = 1442 (59% female) Mean age 50.9 years Live in a city = 60%

8. Health conditions

9. Food behaviours (% who meet intake recommendations)

10. Binomial logistic regression Males ( who frequently (regularly/often) used the HF Tick)

11. Binomial logistic regression Females (who frequently (regularly/often) used the HF Tick)

12. used by many Australians 40% frequently (regularly/often) look 60% rarely (occasionally/never) look not used by younger persons ? not effective preventative health tool need more understanding of consumers use of food signposting how to promote use of tick across lifespan Conclusions

13. Fast-food chain make significant changes to its recipes and is paying $330,000 a year to earn the Heart Foundation's tick of approval. The foundation, a not-for-profit organisation, says the money goes towards the cost of testing the meals to make sure they meet standards and auditing the restaurants Deakin University professor in population health Boyd Swinburn, a former medical director of the Heart Foundation in New Zealand, said the situation was a "clear win-win". Catherine Saxelby, of foodwatch.com.au, says McDonalds should be given some credit. "The small changes that McDonalds make translates to a big change in our nutrition, simply because of the volume of people who go there." About a million people eat at Australia's 747 McDonalds outlets. "At least they're making changes," she says. "Yes, I'd like them to do more. I'd like them to get rid of some of their best sellers but they're not going to do that because they don't want to go out of business overnight. At least now we've got a choice." To qualify for the Heart Foundation Tick, in what is being promoted as a world first, McDonalds has had to greatly reduce the amount of salt in bread rolls, salad dressings and marinades. Instead of the beef tallow it once used as oil, it has switched to a much healthier canola/sunflower blend, a combination virtually free of trans fat which has been linked to heart attacks and strokes. The result is nine Tick approved meals that contain less than two per cent saturated fat, virtually no trans fat, at least one serve (75g) of vegetables and provide less than a third of your daily energy needs.