Health and Economic Impacts of the National Menu Calorie Labeling Law in the United States: A Microsimulation Study.

Background: Excess caloric intake is linked to weight gain, obesity, and related diseases, including type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Obesity incidence is rising, with nearly 3 in 4 US adults being overweight or obese. In 2018, the US federal government finalized the implementation of mandatory labeling of calorie content on all menu items across major chain restaurants nationally as a strategy to support informed consumer choice, reduce caloric intake, and potentially encourage restaurant reformulations.

Cost-effectiveness of financial incentives and disincentives for improving food purchases and health through the US Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): A microsimulation study.

Background: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides approximately US$70 billion annually to support food purchases by low-income households, supporting approximately 1 in 7 Americans. In the 2018 Farm Bill, potential SNAP revisions to improve diets and health could include financial incentives, disincentives, or restrictions for certain foods. However, the overall and comparative impacts on health outcomes and costs are not established.

Adoption and Design of Emerging Dietary Policies to Improve Cardiometabolic Health in the US.

Purpose Of Review: Suboptimal diet is a leading cause of cardiometabolic disease and economic burdens. Evidence-based dietary policies within 5 domains-food prices, reformulation, marketing, labeling, and government food assistance programs-appear promising at improving cardiometabolic health. Yet, the extent of new dietary policy adoption in the US and key elements crucial to define in designing such policies are not well established.

The potential impact of food taxes and subsidies on cardiovascular disease and diabetes burden and disparities in the United States.

Background: Fiscal interventions are promising strategies to improve diets, reduce cardiovascular disease and diabetes (cardiometabolic diseases; CMD), and address health disparities. The aim of this study is to estimate the impact of specific dietary taxes and subsidies on CMD deaths and disparities in the US.

Methods: Using nationally representative data, we used a comparative risk assessment to model the potential effects on total CMD deaths and disparities of price subsidies (10%, 30%) on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts/seeds and taxes (10%, 30%) on processed meat, unprocessed red meats, and sugar-sweetened beverages.

Reducing US cardiovascular disease burden and disparities through national and targeted dietary policies: A modelling study.

Background: Large socio-economic disparities exist in US dietary habits and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. While economic incentives have demonstrated success in improving dietary choices, the quantitative impact of different dietary policies on CVD disparities is not well established. We aimed to quantify and compare the potential effects on total CVD mortality and disparities of specific dietary policies to increase fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption and reduce sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption in the US.

Comparing effectiveness of mass media campaigns with price reductions targeting fruit and vegetable intake on US cardiovascular disease mortality and race disparities.

A low intake of fruits and vegetables (F&Vs) is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the United States. Both mass media campaigns (MMCs) and economic incentives may increase F&V consumption. Few data exist on their comparative effectiveness.

Modeling Future Cardiovascular Disease Mortality in the United States: National Trends and Racial and Ethnic Disparities.

Background: Accurate forecasting of cardiovascular disease mortality is crucial to guide policy and programming efforts. Prior forecasts often have not incorporated past trends in rates of reduction in cardiovascular disease mortality. This creates uncertainties about future trends in cardiovascular disease mortality and disparities.

Cost-effectiveness of a diabetes group education program delivered by health promoters with a guiding style in underserved communities in Cape Town, South Africa.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a group diabetes education program delivered by health promoters in community health centers in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Methods: The effectiveness of the education program was derived from the outcomes of a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT). Incremental operational costs of the intervention, as implemented in the trial, were calculated.