Veg4Me app gets thumbs up as young adults eat their veggies
Young adults living in rural areas ate more vegetables after using an app that helped them shop for and cook healthier foods.
The Veg4Me web app, which provides a geo-located map of the local food environment and personalised Heart Foundation recipes, was tested among a group of young people aged 18–35 years in Victoria’s Loddon Campaspe region and Colac Otway Shire in 2023 and 2024.
Researchers from Deakin University’s Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN) and Deakin Rural Health trialled the app over 12 weeks, looking at the difference it made to young people’s shopping, cooking and eating habits, comparing a version that was personalised to individual food preferences and localised shopping tips and an app that provided healthy food information but was not personalised or localised.
The personalised version of Veg4Me encouraged young people to eat 7% more vegetables and shop more regularly for healthy food. They also reported feeling more confident cooking different types of vegetables, including root vegetables and pulses.
IPAN’s Associate Professor Katherine Livingstone said the Heart Foundation funded study was designed in partnership with young adults in rural areas with the aim of overcoming barriers to eating vegetables and improve overall eating habits.
‘Around one in twenty Australians aged between 18 to 35 living in rural areas don’t eat enough vegetables,’ Associate Professor Livingstone said.
‘That could have a serious impact on their health and wellbeing both now and in the long-term. Vegetables are important for physical and mental health, including reducing risk factors for heart disease, anxiety and depression.’
Senior Research Fellow at Deakin Rural Health and Director of Research at Colac Area Health, Dr Laura Alston, said rates of early death from heart disease were higher than the national average in most Loddon Campaspe and Colac Otway areas.
‘We found that the recipes were a stand-out feature of Veg4Me and nine out of ten young people in our study enjoyed accessing the recipes,’ Dr Alston said.
‘They also made use of the goal-setting function to help them stay motivated and try new vegetables.’
Study participant Emily said the project changed the way she shopped and ate.
‘I just loved learning about a new vegetable every week, because there were lots of vegetables that I didn’t know how to cook.’
Associate Professor Livingstone said she hoped Veg4Me could become available in all regional, rural and remote communities across Australia.
‘This research has shown that Veg4Me can make a positive difference to young people’s shopping and cooking routines and hopefully establish healthy food habits that will continue throughout their lives.’
‘We want to see young adults in these communities eating more vegetables and we want to support healthy, equitable and resilient local food systems.’
Veg4Me was funded by a National Heart Foundation of Australia Vanguard Grant and awarded the 2025 Deakin Faculty of Health Partnerships in Practice Awards for regional and rural research.
Claire Gardner, Manager Food and Nutrition for the Heart Foundation, said the Heart Foundation was proud to support continued research in this space.
‘With data showing that very few people in Australia eat enough vegetables, the Veg4Me trial provides the cardiovascular and dietetics sectors with valuable insights into the efficacy of digital interventions,’ Ms Gardner said.
‘Furthermore, with health inequities in regional and rural areas versus metropolitan areas, it’s important that research continue in this space to ensure everyone has a chance at good heart health in Australia.’
