An ACT government program designed to encourage healthy eating will be expanded following a successful trial.
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The Choose Healthier program, which began as a three-month pilot in March, involved five Canberra businesses promoting healthier alternatives on their menus in an attempt to combat rising obesity levels.
After the success of the pilot, the ACT government has committed $200,000 to implement the program for the next two years.
The Hellenic Club in Woden was one of the businesses that took part in the pilot, adding more nutritious options to its children's menu including chicken souvlakis and spaghetti bolognaise alongside the usual suspects of chicken nuggets and chips.
General manager Patrick McKenna said customers have been quick to jump on the healthier alternatives.
"Since we started, 25 per cent of the kids meals sold have been the healthy items, it's been a great result," he said.
"There are still people ordering chicken nuggets and things like that, which is fine, as long as they don't eat that every day."
Mr McKenna said the key to success has been making the healthy options more prominent on his menus, and is keen to see the program grow.
"It has to be prominent and eye-catching. If you highlight what the healthy items on the menu are, it helps more people to make an informed decision."
Along with The Hellenic Club, the Limelight Cinema in Tuggeranong, Macgregor cafe Tommy & Me as well as IGA supermarkets in Nicholls and Kambah will continue with the program after participating in the trial.
Co-owner of the IGA stores, Terry Karkarzis, said simply labelling which products were healthier was enough to bring about a shift in eating habits over the trial period.
"Sales shifted from one product to another in some departments by about six to seven per cent," he said.
"Because there are so many lines of products, we felt the best way to influence choices was at shelf level."
The program is part of the ACT government's Healthy Weight Initiative, with more than $1.05 million allocated to reduce obesity levels in the most recent ACT budget.
Latest statistics from the Chief Health Officer show nearly two in three adults in Canberra are overweight or obese.
Program manager at Nutrition Australia Leanne Elliston said programs such as Choose Healthier had put the ACT ahead of other states or territories in the fight against expanding waistlines.
"There's been a lot of work going on within the community and there's been a lot change made where healthier options are being made available and people have that choice," she said.
"If people know they are available, they're more likely to go after these options."
