Prescribing free produce was associated with lower blood pressure, blood sugar levels and BMI, a new study has found. Circulation: cardiovascular quality and outcomes journal.
- Adults at risk for heart disease who participated in a produce prescription program for an average of six months increased their fruit and vegetable intake and lowered their blood pressure, body mass index, and blood sugar levels.
- Among adults and children, agricultural prescription programs also appear to reduce food insecurity (lack of fair and stable availability, access, affordability, and consumption of healthy foods and beverages) and improve self-reported health status. is.
Create prescriptions related to health benefits
people at high risk of cardiovascular disease People who participated in the produce prescription program increased their fruit and vegetable intake, which improved body mass index (BMI), blood sugar, and blood pressure levels, and reduced food insecurity. This new study recently Circulation: cardiovascular quality and outcomesa peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.
Creating a prescribing program allows your doctor to prescribe fruits and vegetables in addition to medications. Study lead author Kurt Hager, Ph.D., M.S., an instructor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Mass., said patients can buy electronic products for free or at reduced prices at retail grocery stores and farmers markets. I explained that I would receive a card or voucher.
While previous studies have examined the effectiveness of small, individualized produce prescription programs, this analysis used data from nine programs across the United States to assess health outcomes after approximately six months. It is believed to be the largest integrated agricultural product formulation study.
“Food insecurity is not just about overall diet quality, but also about several important factors, including stress and anxiety, mental health, and the trade-offs between paying for food and other basic needs such as housing, utilities, and medicine. “We know that it affects health through a variety of pathways,” Hager said. They completed these analyzes while doctoral students at Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy in Boston. “These results demonstrate that agricultural formulations may lay an important foundation for improving health and well-being.”
Study participants received a median of $63 per month to purchase produce at local stores and farmers markets. In addition, participants also attended a nutrition class. At the beginning and after the end of the program (duration ranged from 4 to 10 months), participants completed questionnaires regarding fruit and vegetable intake, food insecurity, and health status. Regular blood pressure checks. weight and height. Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), a measure of blood sugar levels, was completed at enrollment and at program completion. The study did not include a control group and compared outcomes between participants before and after participating in the program.
After analyzing all participants, we found the following:
- Adults reported an increase in fruit and vegetable intake by nearly 1 cup per day (0.85 cup per day). Among children, fruit and vegetable intake increased by about a quarter cup per day (0.26 cup per day).
- Systolic blood pressure, or blood pressure during a heartbeat, drops by more than 8 millimeters of mercury (mmHg). Meanwhile, adults who had high blood pressure when they enrolled in the study saw their diastolic blood pressure (the blood pressure between heartbeats) drop by nearly 5 mmHg.
- Blood glucose levels, as measured by HbA1C levels, decreased by 0.29 to 0.58 percentage points in adults with diabetes.
- BMI improved significantly, decreasing by 0.52 kilograms per square meter (kg/m2) in obese adults. However, in children, BMI did not change.
- Adults were 62% more likely to report improved health by completing the program, while children were more than twice as likely.
- Overall, participants were one-third less likely to report food insecurity after the program than before the program began.
“Undernutrition and nutritional insecurity are linked to cardiometabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases such as heart failure, heart attack, and stroke,” said Mitchell Elkind, MD, MS, FAHA’s chief clinician. It is a leading cause of chronic disease worldwide, including the effects on humans.” He is a scientific officer of the American Heart Association and a tenured professor of neurology and epidemiology. columbia university.
“This analysis of produce prescription programs highlights the potential of subsidized produce prescription to increase consumption of nutritious fruits and vegetables, reduce food insecurity, and hopefully improve subjective and objective health measures. Future research should include randomized controlled trials to offset potential bias and more rigorously prove the benefits of produce prescription programs. The American Heart Association’s new ‘Food Is Medicine Initiative” will focus on supporting such clinical trials. ”
The Food is Medicine Initiative, announced by the American Heart Association and the Rockefeller Foundation at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in September 2022, will ensure patients receive healthy food prescriptions to help prevent and manage chronic diseases. We aim to make it possible for you to receive it.
According to the 2022 American Heart Association policy statement, “Strengthening U.S. Food Policies and Programs to Promote Nutritional Security Equity,” malnutrition is linked to serious long-term diseases such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. plays a big role in.
According to the association’s statistics, around 8 million people died due to malnutrition in 2019 alone. Food insecurity is the lack of fair, consistent access to, access to, and affordability of food and beverages that promote well-being and help prevent and treat disease.
Research details:
- The analysis included 1,817 children and 2,064 adults enrolled in one of nine produce prescription programs run by the nonprofit organization Wholesome Wave from 2014 to 2020. The program was implemented in 22 locations in low-income areas in 12 U.S. states.
- All program participants had or were at risk for developing heart disease or type 2 diabetes, were food insecure, or were enrolled in a clinic serving primarily low-income neighborhoods. .
- The average age of adult participants was 54 years. 71% were female, 30% were White adults, 45% were Black adults, 21% were Hispanic adults, and 4% of adults’ race/ethnicity was classified as “other.”
- The average age of children participating in the study was 9 years. Approximately half of the children were girls, 9% were white children, 13% were black children, 76% were Hispanic children, and 2% of the children’s race/ethnicity was classified as “other.” Almost two-thirds of the child participants were enrolled in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
- At the start of the study, more than half of surveyed households reported experiencing food insecurity.
This analysis had several limitations, including the absence of a control group for comparison. High rates of missing food insecurity survey data and fruit and vegetable intake data at the end of some programs.and its effect COVID-19 (new coronavirus infection) The pandemic on the show started during that period.
Reference: “The Impact of Produce Prescriptions on Diet, Food Security, and Cardiometabolic Health Outcomes: A Multisite Evaluation of Nine Produce Prescription Programs in the United States” Kurt Hager, Mengxi Du, Zhongyu Li, Dariush Mozaffarian, Kenneth Chui, Peilin Shi, Brent Lin, Sean B. Cash, Sara C. Folta, Fang Fang Zhang, August 29, 2023; Circulatory cardiovascular quality and outcome.
DOI: 10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.122.009520
