My FoodSwaps

COVID19 has changed people’s perceptions and engagement with online platforms as individuals now access more health information online. Current public health messages are typically ‘one-size-fits-all’ with little engagement and many dissenting voices questioning the scientific evidence. In contrast, many lifestyle influencers promise that their “way of life is the magic bullet” to better health. The credibility of this information is questionable.

Our recent work showed that more than half of men and women in the Hazelwood Health study did not meet recommended intakes of fibre, while 60% of men and 42% of women exceeded recommended dietary sodium intakes. What is clear is that what we are doing now, at a population level, is not working well enough. We need to disrupt the current state of public health communication by widening access to online personalised dietary recommendations.

In partnership with Monash University, My FoodSwaps aims to monitor and change the dietary patterns within the Latrobe Valley. We will co-design a community based, innovative, personalised dietary feedback system by adapting an existing tool, Intake24. This tool will  consider the local food environment in the Latrobe Valley. Our aim is to provide a tool that is accessible to the community of the Latrobe Valley when and where they need it to make healthy options the desirable and easy option by improving dietary literacy.