With South Africa facing rising obesity levels, education, awareness, and incentives are needed to encourage the average South African to make healthier choices. Discovery Vitality’s HealthyFood benefit is an example of how a carefully structured rewards programme can influence client behaviour to the benefit of all.
With diet-related diseases on the rise, the need for accessible, affordable and nutritious food choices has never been more pressing. Poor nutrition is a key factor behind many health issues, including obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
It was with this in mind that Discovery Vitality launched the HealthyFood, which rewards members for making healthy choices. Since its inception nearly two decades ago, the HealthyFood benefit has been working to make healthy eating more affordable and accessible, and to raise awareness about what is considered a healthy food item versus what isn’t.
A study from the Western Cape, published in Nutrition: The International Journal of Applied and Basic Nutritional Sciences, highlights a crucial issue: healthier foods can cost between 10% and 60% more than less nutritious alternatives when comparing the cost per 100g. This cost difference drives many consumers towards cheaper, calorie-dense, nutrient-poor options, which often contribute to the growing epidemic of diet-related diseases.
The multiple benefits healthy choices
To counter this, the HealthyFood benefit offers up to 25% back in Ðiscovery Miles on HealthyFood purchases, with Discovery Bank customers enjoying boosts of up to 75%. The introduction of the Vitality indicator, a first in South Africa, further supports this by helping members quickly identify the healthiest options in-store.
The impact of these efforts is significant. Vitality’s data shows that members who consistently buy from the HealthyFood catalogue are 13% less likely to become obese and 55% less likely to have high-risk blood glucose levels. They also experience a 14% lower risk of hospitalisation for cardiometabolic diseases, also known as lifestyle diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes.
“We recognise that the journey to better health is not always easy, which is why we developed the innovative HealthyFood benefit. People expect bland, boring foods, but our partner catalogues really show what’s possible when you tap into an array of choices that ultimately lead to improved health outcomes and a reduction in diet-related diseases,” says Dinesh Govender, CEO of Vitality.
Eating for a better future
Members can now earn rewards on HealthyFood purchases made in-store at Checkers and Woolworths, as well as online through Checkers Sixty60, Woolies Dash and the Woolies app. This flexibility encourages members to incorporate healthier eating into their daily routines.
In the past three years, our members have purchased over 220 million HealthyFood items, earning more than R1 billion in rewards. Popular items include tomatoes, bananas, cucumbers, apples and tuna – everyday staples that show how accessible and varied healthy eating can be when given the right support.
The HealthyFood benefit is about more than just rewards; it’s about encouraging a culture of health and overall wellness. By integrating principles of behavioural science, the benefit leverages education, awareness, incentives and rewards to promote long-term changes in eating habits. This approach not only benefits individual members but also aims to create a ripple effect of positive change across society.
As South Africa faces rising obesity levels, the importance of such initiatives cannot be ignored. By making healthier eating more accessible, Vitality’s HealthyFood benefit is helping to build a healthier future for all.
