The University of Newcastle

The issue

In Australia, poor dietary habits are now the modifiable risk factor accounting for the greatest proportion of our national burden of disease. 42% of females and 63% of males aged between 25-34 years of age are overweight or obese, and young people are prematurely developing preventable chronic diseases, such as, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

In combination with other lifestyle risks such as tobacco smoking, risky drinking and lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating habits will place young people at greater risk of developing a chronic disease at an earlier age than previous generations, and in turn, will place significant strain on the healthcare system and individual wellbeing.

The University of Newcastle is committed to supporting researchers and partnering with industry in order to solve real-world problems. The University's Priority Research Centre in Physical Activity and Nutrition (PRCPAN) delivers evidence-based and technology-driven programs to improve nutrition and lifestyle behaviours. Their project team has extensive experience in conceptualising, developing, delivering and evaluating e-Health interventions that make an impact, helping people to improve dietary patterns.

The project

University of Newcastle is developing and delivering the No Money No Time program, a web-based personalised nutrition platform that helps motivate and support young Australian adults to adopt healthy eating behaviours, reducing the risk of preventable chronic diseases.

The program is achieving this by providing personalised dietary feedback and advice from trusted health experts on how to improve dietary patterns; streamlined web access to their existing evidence-based and popular dietary assessment tools - The Healthy Eating Quiz and the Australian Eating Survey - and providing personalised feedback and suggestions about how to develop and sustain healthier food habits.

The project aims to reach an estimate of 140,000 people per year.

The impact

Adopting healthy eating habits at a young age will help prevent many chronic diseases, yet young people are the least likely to seek dietary advice from qualified professionals. Instead, they tend to rely on easy-to-access sources including media, friends and Google for nutrition information.

With the delivery of an innovative and accessible program that provides personalised nutrition assessments and feedback and regular support for young people, individuals are more likely to attempt to eat healthier as they seek advice from trusted health experts from the comfort of their own home.

The No Money No Time online platform can be found here and is a one stop shop to access dietary feedback through the Healthy Eating Quiz and the Australian Eating Survey.