Educating health professionals on the nutrition and health benefits of avocados (AV20003)

Completed project

Publication date: April 8, 2025

Delivery Partner: Bite Communications

What was it all about?

This project educated health professionals about the nutrition and health benefits of avocados to encourage their recommendation and ultimately increase the purchase and consumption of Australian avocados. A key objective was to secure health professional support for an increased serving size (from 50g to 75g, half a medium avocado per day) and establish this as a recognised portion recommendation.

Challenge

Health professionals had previously received little communication about the growing body of evidence supporting the nutrition and health benefits of avocados. Despite avocados being widely accepted as part of popular diets (e.g., paleo, plant-based, keto, vegan), there was an opportunity to increase professional endorsement of their nutritional value and appropriate serving size. The challenge was to create effective evidence-based engagement strategies to shift perceptions and behaviors among health professionals and encourage an increase in recommendation to clients.

Response

The project implemented a multi-faceted strategy, incorporating a combination of touchpoints, including:

A digital hub for health professionals providing easy access to avocado nutrition research and resources.
A targeted customer database for direct communication with engaged health professionals.
A systematic literature review summarising global research on avocado health benefits and nutrition.
A roundtable discussion with key nutrition and health experts to gain consensus on the increased serving size recommendation.
Farm tours and conferences to connect healthcare professionals and health influencers with the avocado industry, grounding their knowledge of provenance, varieties and increasing their appreciation for Australian growers.
Engagement with global research centers to stay updated on the latsest nutrition research.
A scoping review to evaluate the optimal avocado serving size (amount and frequency) to elicit health benefits without negative health outcomes.
Industry engagement through regular communications updates, equipping stakeholders to amplify health messaging on their own channels.
Oversight of project progress and implementation via a Project Reference Group.

To enable impact to be measured, and to inform priorities, at commencement of the program (November 2021), a benchmark understanding of health professional perceptions about avocados was established via the conduction of audience research. The survey questions were also repeated in January 2023 and November 2023 to track attitudinal and practical change among dietitians, nutritionists, General Practitioners (GPs) and students in health-related disciplines.

Benefit

The project led to a 24 per cent increase in health professionals agreeing that a serve of avocado should be 75g and a 39 per cent increase in those recommending half an avocado (75g) or more as an appropriate portion size for their clients or patients. The research also supported the recommendation that consumers can eat one avocado per day (~150g) as part of a healthy diet to help lower blood lipids without the risk of weight gain. The initiative created lasting momentum for ongoing health professional advocacy and laid the foundation for continued education efforts promoting avocado consumption.

What was it all about?

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