Thumbs Down For Heart Tick, Australia

So much for giving the fat more information so they can make "healthy" food choices. (There are no "healthy" foods. There is just eating healthily.)

Young and/or healthy people are less likely to use the Heart Foundation's Tick of approval to make food choices in the supermarket, according to a study conducted by CQUniversity.

Healthy food researcher from CQUniversity Dr Susan Williams said the survey of 1435 adult Australians, conducted late 2009, revealed that the Tick program was rarely used by younger people and those who had not been previously diagnosed with a chronic health condition.

"Overall, 76% of those surveyed said they looked for the Tick at least occasionally and more females than males looked for the Tick," Dr Williams said.

"However our study also showed that more Australians never looked for the Tick (24%) than those who regularly use the Tick (19%).

"The males who frequently looked for the Tick were almost twice as likely to be overweight or obese, more than three times more likely to have been diagnosed with coronary heart disease, and nearly twice as likely to have been diagnosed with hypertension."

The study also showed that females who frequently looked for the Tick were three times more likely to be over 65 years of age and more likely to live in a rural area or town.

Of those who never use the Tick, 41% said they never looked for dietary symbols or logos to make choices with grocery items, 10% said they did not trust the symbol or organisation, while 4% considered themselves healthy and did not need to worry about diet.

"Overall, this study highlights that the use of food product signposting (such as the Heart Foundation Tick) currently has a limited market.

Yup.