Introduction by Croakey: Following the launch of a new feature at Uber Eats, ‘Eats for teens’, researchers at the University of Sydney are calling for stronger policies regulating digital food environments.
Below, Dr Sisi Jia, Associate Professor Stephanie Partridge, Dr Rebecca Raeside and Allyson Todd write that urgent action is needed to “regulate how unhealthy food is marketed online – and to create safer, more supportive spaces for young people to build healthy habits that last”.
It is a timely call to action, as the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) releases its 2025 Federal election scorecard, which finds that the major parties are failing to address obesity.
The scorecard indicates that The Greens Party’s position on obesity aligns with the PHAA’s policy priority in that they support the National Obesity Strategy 2022-32. They also support a ban on media advertising of junk food to kids. However, the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal-National Party Coalition do not.
According to the PHAA, the ALP supports the National Obesity Strategy 2022-32, but has made no commitments to implement it in recent Budgets, or during this election campaign. “Labor cites a current feasibility study into options to limit unhealthy food marketing to children. There are, however, no confirmed actions committed to,” the PHAA writes.
“When last in Government the Coalition developed the National Obesity Strategy 2022-32, but the Coalition has made no specific commitments to implement it during this election campaign. The Coalition opposes a levy on sugar added to food and beverages, instead emphasising a focus on personal responsibility.”
Sisi Jia, Stephanie Partridge, Rebecca Raeside and Allyson Todd write:
Uber Eats has just launched a new feature in Australia, just in time for the school holidays, allowing teens to order from their parents’ account – a move that could make it harder to support healthier eating in young people.
The company says the feature will give young people greater autonomy and relieve busy parents. But, this isn’t just about convenience – it’s part of a bigger pattern where powerful companies are influencing what we eat, often prioritising profit over health, especially in the case of young people.
Nearly half of Gen Z Australians already use meal delivery services, highlighting how embedded these platforms are in young people’s lives. Takeaway and discretionary foods make up more than 40 percent of young people’s daily energy intake. Young people aren’t to blame – these foods are everywhere, including in the digital world.
Our research has shown food delivery platforms are saturated with unhealthy fast-food options, making them the easy choice.
As researchers studying digital food environments and adolescent health – and working with young people as part of our team – we see several issues with the new proposed feature and outline factors below that parents and policymakers should consider.
What is Eats for teens?
‘Eats for teens’ is a new feature from Uber Eats that allows 13- to 17-year-olds in Australia to order food through the app under a parent’s account. Once a parent sets up a Family Profile, teens can browse menus and place orders without parental approval.
Uber Eats promotes the feature to support growing independence, while still giving parents oversight. Parents receive real-time notifications when an order is placed, can set monthly spending limits, and track deliveries live. The platform also blocks access to age-restricted and regulated items like alcohol.
The feature has been marketed as a tool to help “busy families” and was launched just as school holidays began, a time when many young people may be spending more time unsupervised at home or out with friends.
Delivery apps fuelling fast-food
Our recent research comparing over 140,000 online and physical food outlets across NSW found there are four times more fast-food options available online than in person – showing how the digital food environment is expanding our food choices.
In our 2023 real-time study of more than 100 young Australians, over 60 percent of all food delivery orders during the study period were classified as junk food and nearly one in three used a special promotion – a feature commonly used to offer free delivery or discounts.
Meal delivery apps use customer data to serve highly targeted, persuasive marketing, including free delivery, discounts, and limited-time offers. We know that unhealthy foods are more likely to be categorised as ‘popular’ – making it easy to spot when swiping through the menu as well as part of a meal deal.
Nearly 70 percent of food promotions on social media from these apps comprise of unhealthy items. For young people, who are especially susceptible to marketing, this creates a triple threat – food that’s cheap, convenient, and hard to resist.
Worsen health inequities
Meal delivery apps are already rapidly expanding — Uber has plans to boost access in regional areas — meaning their reach is growing across all communities.
But this expansion may deepen existing health inequities, especially for young people and families in lower-income areas.
In England, researchers have found that the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas had greatest access to takeaway food outlets online.
In contrast, our Australian research found that online food access in more affluent areas included a greater proportion of healthier options, such as fresh produce and supermarkets, compared to more disadvantaged areas.
New findings also show that people in regional and remote parts of Australia have less access to healthy options via food delivery apps than those in major cities.
A review of 374 Uber Eats marketing documents shows the company frequently targets families, using messages centred on “convenience” and “value” while ignoring long-term health costs. More than four in five Australian parents say they’re concerned about junk food marketing to kids and this feature may add to that burden.
Young people are especially vulnerable to push notifications, discounts, and in-app nudges. With limited access to credible health information online, food delivery apps can further blur the lines between choice, influence, and exposure.
Parental controls – helpful or hollow?
While ‘Eats for teens’ requires parental approval to set up, this control may not be as robust as it sounds. Parents receive order notifications, but these can be easily missed, especially during a busy workday. Young people can also use saved promotions or re-order from unhealthy “favourites” with just a few taps.
For young people, autonomy matters. But when the platform is designed to nudge users toward fast food – through photos, discounts, and algorithmic suggestions – real choice becomes compromised.
Not all young people and parents have the same level of digital literacy or awareness of how food apps operate, which can make navigating these controls even more challenging and could potentially widen health inequities.
Commercial influences
Uber Eats’ new ‘Eats for teens’ feature may seem like a handy solution for time-poor families. But it comes with serious health implications in a digital food environment already stacked against healthy choices.
While parental controls offer some reassurance, they don’t undo the powerful, behind-the-scenes nudges that push young people toward fast food – from personalised promotions to relentless notifications.
If families do choose to use the feature, awareness and guidance are essential.
But individual action isn’t enough. As young people gain more independence, we need stronger policies to ensure the digital food environment supports, rather than undermines, their health.
That means urgent action to regulate how unhealthy food is marketed online – and to create safer, more supportive spaces for young people to build healthy habits that last.
Importantly, young people themselves have called for this change. Members of our Youth Advisory Group have spoken out about the harms of food marketing and corporate influence, calling for greater accountability.
Tips for navigating the new feature
Noa Blair and Jack Ko, Master of Nutrition and Dietetics students at the University of Sydney, shared these recommendations with us for navigating the new ‘Eats of teens’ feature and helping young people select healthier choices:
- Parents and teens could scroll through menus together, compare options, and talk about what makes a balanced meal. Use the “healthy” filter and build a go-to list of tasty meals with veggies, fruit, and wholegrains.
- Talk about choices like grilled instead of fried, water instead of soft drink, adding extra salad. Some menus even show energy labels to help guide choices.
- Agree on a monthly budget and make food delivery an occasional treat, not an everyday habit. This might help with impulse orders.
- Help young people learn how to read menus, compare options, make informed choices – real-world digital food literacy!
- Use older history as a springboard for conversations about eating and food habits.
- Fun alternatives to ordering in:
- During the school holidays, start a cooking challenge: plan a theme, like plant-based, low-budget, or new cuisines and cook together. Maybe Uber Eats budget can be used for ingredients instead of takeaway
- Get young people involved in meal prep: it builds confidence, skills, awareness of what they are eating
- Keep snacks on hand: make it easy to grab something healthy: set up a smoothie station, keep veggie sticks and hummus in the fridge, or prep air-popped popcorn.
About the authors
Sisi Jia is a Research Fellow and Accredited Practising Dietitian based at Faculty of Medicine and Health and Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney.
Stephanie Partridge is an Associate Professor, Sydney Horizon Fellow, National Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellow and Accredited Practising Dietitian based at Faculty of Medicine and Health and Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney.
Rebecca Raeside is a Research Fellow based at Faculty of Medicine and Health and Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney.
Allyson Todd is a PhD Candidate and Research Officer and based at Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney.
See Croakey’s archive of articles on the commercial determinants of health.
