HMRI Researcher of the Year, Professor Clare Collins, has been awarded the DAA President’s Award for Innovation for her work developing the Healthy Eating Quiz™.

HMRI Researcher of the Year, Professor Clare Collins, has been awarded the President’s Award for Innovation at the Dietitians Association of Australia’s National conference for her work developing the Healthy Eating Quiz™.

The Healthy Eating Quiz™ was derived from Professor Collins’ research studies using the Australian Recommended Food Score. The quiz measures alignment of people’s eating patterns with the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating and variety within the major food groups. It takes about five minutes to complete and gives general advice on how to improve your score in a feedback report.

Co-Director of the University of Newcastle Priority Research Centre in Physical Activity and Nutrition and Director of Research for the School of Health Sciences, Professor Collins was delighted to receive the award for this online initiative.

“The Healthy Eating Quiz first went online in 2012 to give people access to a brief tool that could quickly check whether their usual eating habits were on a healthy track,” Professor Collins says. “We know that increasing your intake of vegetables and fruit increases your health, happiness and wellbeing. Although have a great variety of healthy foods in Australia for many people this is still a challenge and so their nutrients not adequate.”

Doing the quiz online removes many barriers to Australians accessing information about nutrition and diet quality. It also offers more people a chance to be informed about food patterns that align with the Australian Dietary Guidelines and can help with making healthy food choices.

The Healthy Eating Quiz™ is also being used in a range of research projects at HMRI and UON, offering insight into individual’s eating patterns and how they compare to the rest of the nation.

Presented in honour of the memory of Josephine Rogers, AM, the President’s Award for Innovation has been awarded only 16 times in the past 20 years.