Factors influencing consumer use of the

Heart Foundation Tick

Sue Williams, PhD.Institute for Health and Social Science ResearchCQUniversityQueensland, Australia

Aim of the Heart Foundation Tick

CalciumDietary fibre /Vegetables /Wholegrains

Protein % Ingredients

Dietary fatsSodium

Energy density

Serving sizes

... when compared with foods within the same category

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

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?

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

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

Use of Heart Foundation Tick

N = 1442 (59% female)Mean age 50.9 yearsLive in a city = 60%

Regularly Often Occasionally Never05

10152025303540

19.3

20.9

35.4

24.3

15.3 20

34.8

29.9

22.2

21.8

35.7

20.3

TotalMaleFemale

Frequently Rarely

Health conditions

BMI > 25kg/m2 CHD Diabetes Hypertension

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

59.8

3.5 5.2

23

70.2

6.9 6.7

28.1

52.2

1.1 4.2

19.4

Total

Male

Female

Food behaviours(% who meet intake recommendations)

Red meat Proc meat Fast food Vegetables Fruit Salt after

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

70.277.3

47.1

12.2

57.3 58.7

TotalMaleFemale

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

BMI

CHD

Diab

etes

Hype

rten

sion

Veg

Frui

t

Red

mea

t

Proc

mea

t

Fast

food

Salt

after

Tow

n/Ru

ral a

rea

Terti

ary

educ

ation

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

1.56 3.28 1.19 1.85 2.26 1.720.71

1.620.95

1.92 1.20.47

Binomial Logistic regression (CI 95%)Adjusted OR’s

p < 0.05

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

BMI

CHD

Diab

etes

Hype

rten

sion

Veg

Frui

t

Red

mea

t

Proc

mea

t

Fast

food

Salt

after

Tow

n/Ru

ral a

rea

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

1.2 4.93 1.2 1.510.81

1.140.93

1.18 1.26 1.29 1.64

Binomial Logistic regression (CI 95%) Adjusted OR’s

p < 0.05

• 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

• 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.