Health records from 68 adults link plant-based grocery support to lower blood pressure and weight
Providing people with nutritious foods can improve the management of chronic metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension. However, most studies of "Food Is Medicine" programs have only looked at their short-term impacts—on the scale of weeks to months.
A new study led by researchers at Mass General Brigham has found that a longer-duration Food Is Medicine program, which provided weekly plant-based grocery packages to 68 adults for an average of 2.7 years, was associated with dose-dependent improvements in cardiometabolic health. The researchers found that participants who received more food packages showed larger improvements, with an estimated 3.21 mmHg reduction in diastolic blood pressure, 2.6 kg (5.7 pounds) reduction in weight, and 1.04 kg/m2 reduction in BMI for every 100 food packages received.
The study, published in Preventing Chronic Disease, highlights the potential for Food Is Medicine interventions to improve chronic metabolic diseases such as hypertension and type 2 diabetes when implemented over longer durations.
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