The rapid rise of online food delivery services (OFDS) is changing how Australians eat — and not necessarily for the better.
A Deakin University study found that while people wanted healthier options, comfort food was taking precedence because it tended to be easier, cheaper, and what users would see first on their apps.
The researchers explored what drove food choices on OFDS in Australia, and what actions consumers believed could support better eating habits. They interviewed 30 regular OFDS users in Victoria — mostly highly educated, working professionals aged 18 to 45 — who used apps like Uber Eats, DoorDash, or Menulog two to five times per week.
Comfort food and convenience dominate choices
The researchers subsequently reported that the most common reasons for ordering food through delivery apps was stress, fatigue, and cravings. Participants frequently used terms like “treat”, “indulgence” and “craving” when describing their ordering behaviour.
For many, less healthy food was not just a convenience but an emotional response. Participants said tasty comfort food made them feel good, and they tended to give into cravings for junk food.
Time and cost were also major drivers. Many participants felt cooking wasn’t worth the effort —especially for those who lacked confidence in the kitchen or had fussy children. Several respondents said ordering was “cheaper than home cooking”, particularly when factoring in time and clean-up.
Social factors and family influence play a key role
Social dynamics were another consistent influence. Whether ordering for a partner or children, many respondents said their choices were shaped by what others in the household preferred.
For parents, comfort food helped avoid mealtime struggles. For couples, shared decision-making often meant falling back on easy, familiar options that were typically less healthy.
OFDS marketing steers consumers toward unhealthy food
Perhaps the strongest influence came from the platforms themselves. Every participant mentioned the impact of OFDS design, promotions and marketing. From homepage promotions to push notifications, participants felt the apps were geared toward making fast, less healthy food the default.
Participants also said healthy options were often buried, less visually appealing, and more expensive. Many acknowledged that while they could search for healthy food, they didn’t feel the effort and higher cost were worth it. At the same time, unhealthy food tended to be on discount more often than healthier options.
Consumers support major changes to make healthy choices easier
Despite all this, the study also found strong support for interventions that would make healthy choices easier on OFDS platforms.
Participants suggested making healthy food more visible, such as placing it at the top of menus or using visual toggles for “healthy choices”.
They also recommended defaulting to healthier meals within restaurant menus, offering discounts and loyalty rewards for healthy food purchases, partnering with more health-oriented restaurants, and using colour-coded labels or health star ratings (similar to in-store supermarket systems).
Additionally, they said simply seeing healthy options via push notifications would make a big difference. And while some participants were sceptical about the effectiveness of health star ratings, others believed clearer labelling — such as red, yellow and green traffic lights — could help.
Policy pressure is mounting
While the OFDS industry is largely unregulated in terms of nutritional promotion, public appetite for policy action is growing. Previous studies have shown that Australians support measures like taxing sugary products and banning junk food ads. This latest research suggests similar support extends to delivery apps.
The study’s authors recommended that governments extend existing food labelling and promotion policies, which are already in place for fast food outlets, to digital platforms. They noted the current regulatory gap, which signalled the need for policies that would hold the digital food environment to the same standards as the physical one. This includes clear labelling, limits on unhealthy promotions, and incentives for platforms that promote dietary quality.
What’s next: A need for real-world trials
While simulated studies have shown promise — such as boosting healthy choices through menu changes or discount prompts — real-world implementation remains limited. OFDS has become and will continue to be a mainstay in consumers’ daily lives. As such, the researchers called for pilot programs with OFDS platforms to test changes like default placements, price promotions for healthy meals, and transparent nutrition labelling.
A new kind of convenience culture
The broader takeaway is that the OFDS industry is shaping how a generation eats. And while much of that impact has been negative (i.e., higher consumption of calorie-dense, nutrient-poor foods) the same tools can be redirected toward public health.
The researchers concluded: “Our participants expressed a desire to find healthy food options more easily on OFDS to help them make an informed food choice.
“Robust actions are needed to enhance the accessibility, availability and desirability of healthy food options on OFDS to enable consumers make healthier food choices on OFDS.”
Source: BMC Public Health
“Understanding food choices and promoting healthier food options among online food delivery service users in Australia: a qualitative study”
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22839-5
Authors: Adyya Gupta, et al.
