Getting the message out: raising awareness of ultra-processed foods in Australia

How well do people understand what ultra-processed foods are and how they impact our health?

Worldwide, diets are dominated by ultra-processed foods (UPFs), which have been linked to several diseases, including heart diseases and early death.  

Almost half of what Australians eat is ultra-processed, and it’s growing every year. UPFs include foods that people recognise as ‘junk foods’ (such as soft drinks, confectionery), but also many foods that people perceive as ‘healthy’ (such as flavoured yoghurt, plant-based meat, sugared breakfast cereal).  

Dr Priscila Machado has identified a need to improve how we communicate about UPFs to increase awareness of the potential harms associated with these foods, and to help people reduce their consumption. 

Working with consumers, Australian public health organisations and UPF experts, Dr Machado and team have developed a communications framework to be used as a tool to increase understanding of UPFs among Australian adults. 

To do this, they initially surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults across Australia to assess people’s understanding and knowledge of UPFs. The research team also reviewed existing literature to identify best practices for constructing educative and persuasive health and nutrition messages. Dr Machado then used the survey findings and literature review findings to create the framework.  

“The framework is designed to guide public health organisations such as the Heart Foundation to develop messages to raise awareness about UPFs in Australia,” Dr Machado said.  

“Consumers, key health organisations and nutrition experts all made valuable contributions to the framework to ensure the messages are clear, relevant and helpful.”  

Dr Machado believes the research has the potential to improve health and wellbeing by empowering individuals to make informed choices about their food intake and supporting public health initiatives targeting UPFs in Australia.  

“We are really excited about this project because it provides helpful insights into Australians’ understanding of UPFs, as well as resources to help public health organisations communicate about the impacts of these foods,” Dr Machado said.  

“Our next step is to partner with public health organisations to implement and test the communications framework based on the organisation’s goals, communication channels and targeted audience.”