“We have co-designed with young adults living in rural communities, local rural governments and a peak health organisation an app, called Veg4Me,” Deakin University Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition senior research fellow Dr Katherine Livingstone said.
“It offers a range of features to encourage young adults to eat more vegetables.”
Dr Livingston said people living in rural areas were not eating enough vegetables.
“In Australia, we have national surveys, asking people about the types of foods that they are eating, and fruits and vegetables consistently in the surveys come out at very low levels,” she said.
“It is as low as around one in every 20 young adults, who are actually meeting the recommendations of five or six servings of vegetables per day.
“From a public health perspective, this is really quite concerning, because we know fruit and vegetables are incredibly important components of a healthy diet.
“They help us improve our health and wellbeing, reducing our risk factors for things like heart disease, but also improving our overall wellbeing and mental health, which are really important risk factors for young adults in today’s society.”
People are being asked to use the Veg4me app over a 12-week period in return for a $75 grocery voucher.
Because this is a test, there will be two versions of the Veg4me app: one that is personalised to individual preferences and the other that is not.
“The idea is we can then test whether personalised information helps young adults to improve their diets more than generalised dietary advice,” Dr Livingstone said.
“People who get access to personalised Veg4Me, will receive free evidence-based resources and recipes tailored to their dietary preferences.”
Resources that Veg4Me users may get could include an interactive food environment map, goal-setting portal, weekly newsletter and healthy eating tips using Australian evidence-based resources.
A food environment map identifies local resources that help people eat healthier, and can include community gardens, food banks and other local food initiatives.
“The idea is that people when they go into Veg4Me, they can look at the food environment map and say ‘Okay, these are the things in my local area this week I might check out, next week I might check out another’,” Dr Livingstone said.
“Essentially, it is about helping people be better aware of what might be available and existing in their community.”
To learn more about the study or register to take part, go to www.veg4me.deakin.edu.au
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