American Heart Association spurs “food is medicine” research with new funding

29 Jan 2024 --- To identify effective “food is medicine” approaches that incorporate healthy food into health care delivery, the American Heart Association (AHA) will reward US$7.9 million to 19 research projects as part of its Health Care by Food initiative. The projects will examine the efficacy of adding healthy food provisions to patient care, aiming to help treat, manage and prevent chronic health conditions and alleviate health inequities.

“With the involvement of stakeholders across the public health ecosystem, we aim to mobilize US$250 million toward building a future in which people and communities nationwide have equitable access to healthy food to treat and prevent chronic health conditions,” says Nancy Brown, CEO at AHA. 

“Our coordinated research strategy will identify the most effective ways for food to address diet-related conditions to make food is medicine interventions a regular and reimbursable component of health care.”

Ultimately, the projects aim to improve health cost-effectively through food and medicine interventions, supporting the coverage of effective programs for millions of US citizens with or at high risk for chronic health conditions.

Winning projects 
The projects are the first to be funded under the Health Care by Food initiative, which focuses on scientific research and public policy advocacy to promote the adoption of interventions helping to reduce chronic health conditions and curb health care costs. It is supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, Kroger, Instacart, Kaiser Permanente and the Walmart Foundation. 

The 19 projects receiving funding will test how to achieve significant short-term changes in healthy eating behavior to strengthen the foundation for follow-up research on longer-term behavioral change. Through pilot testing, they will determine how to equitably increase enrolment and engagement in “food is medicine” interventions. 

Focus areas include food research coaching for patients in a safety-net clinic, “food is medicine” interventions in underserved communities, produce delivery programs for patients with heart failure and food prescription programs for older adults. 

“When people cannot afford or access nutritious foods, they are at greater risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases that contribute to higher healthcare costs,” comments Dr. Rajiv Shah, president of The Rockefeller Foundation. 

“These research trials are an essential step in our efforts to ensure everyone’s health insurance covers effective ‘food is medicine’ approaches — and can help them have the opportunity to live healthier, better lives.” 

The projects will examine the efficacy of adding healthy food provisions to patient care to treat chronic diseases.According to the AHA, the projects were chosen for their creative ideas and commitment to rigorous evaluations of interventions for people with or at an elevated risk for chronic conditions. They aim to ensure programs serve populations in need and learn from experiences in assessing how to increase healthy eating behaviors. 

Food is medicine 
The AHA states that an estimated 90% of US annual healthcare costs are spent on medical care for chronic health conditions. Many of these diseases are diet-related, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. 

The campaign has been defined as providing healthy food resources in coordination with the healthcare system to help treat, manage and prevent specific conditions. Interventions may include medically tailored meals — providing home-delivered nutritious meals customized for patients with chronic conditions — or produce prescription programs, which offer patients free or discounted produce.  

The Health Care by Food initiative aims to address barriers to the widespread adoption of healthy food to treat chronic diseases and overcome health inequities. 

“Research studies increasingly show that healthy food is critical to the effective treatment and prevention of chronic health conditions,” says Dr. Victor Dzau, president of the National Academy of Medicine. 

“This initiative is vital to discover real-world evidence of the most impactful ways to incorporate healthy food into health care and benefit communities that face the biggest challenges accessing the food they need to get and stay healthy.” 

Earlier this year, Nutrition Insight discussed the benefits and research gaps of integrating food-based nutritional interventions into healthcare with the US Food is Medicine Institute. This institute urges the healthcare system to implement interventions to increase population-wide nutrition security, health equity and wellness. 

By Jolanda van Hal