Background: There is growing interest in Food is Medicine programs that incorporate food-based interventions into health care for patients with diet-related conditions.
Objectives: We aimed to test the feasibility of a "produce prescription" program and its impact on diet quality for people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) experiencing food insecurity in Australia.
Methods: We conducted a pre-post intervention study in n = 50 adults experiencing food insecurity with T2D and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) ≥8%. Once enrolled, participants received healthy food boxes weekly free of charge, with the contents sufficient to create 2 meals/d, 5 d/wk for the entire household, over 12 wk. Participants were also provided with tailored recipes and behavioral change support. The primary outcome was change in diet quality assessed by 24-h diet recalls. Secondary outcomes included differences in cardiovascular disease risk factors; blood micronutrients; and feasibility indicators. Differences in the baseline and 12-wk mean primary and secondary outcomes were assessed by paired t tests.
Results: Participants were older adults with mean ± SD age 63 ± 9 y (range: 40-87 y), HbA1c 9.8% ± 1.5%, and 46% were female. Overall, 92% completed the final study follow-up for the primary outcome. Compared with baseline, diet quality improved at week 12, with an increase in the mean overall diet quality (Alternate Healthy Eating Index score) of 12.9 (95% CI: 8.7, 17.1; P < 0.001), driven by significant improvements in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, red/processed meat, trans fat, sodium, and alcohol consumption. Blood lipids also improved (total:HDL cholesterol: -0.48; 95% CI: -0.72, -0.24; P < 0.001), and there was significant weight loss (-1.74 kg; 95% CI: -2.80, -0.68 kg, P = 0.002), but no changes in other clinical outcomes. Participants reported high levels of satisfaction with the program.
Conclusions: These findings provide strong support for an adequately powered randomized trial to assess effects of produce prescription as an innovative approach to improve clinical management among individuals with T2D experiencing food insecurity. This trial was registered at https://anzctr.org.au/ as ACTRN12621000404820.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxac152 | DOI Listing |
SSM Ment Health
December 2024
Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
Food insecurity is a major threat to global public health and sustainable development. As of 2022, 2.4 billion people worldwide experienced moderate to severe food insecurity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
December 2024
Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications, and Informatics, Gdansk University of Technology, 80-233, Gdańsk, Poland.
Despite seemingly inexorable imminent risks of food insecurity that hang over the world, especially in developing countries like Pakistan where traditional agricultural methods are being followed, there still are opportunities created by technology that can help us steer clear of food crisis threats in upcoming years. At present, the agricultural sector worldwide is rapidly pacing towards technology-driven Precision Agriculture (PA) approaches for enhancing crop protection and boosting productivity. Literature highlights the limitations of traditional approaches such as chances of human error in recognizing and counting pests, and require trained labor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Nutr
December 2024
School of Public Health, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, Harar, Ethiopia.
Background: Inadequate consumption of vitamin A during lactation significantly increases the risk of vitamin A deficiency disorders. However, there is scarce evidence on the consumption status of vitamin A-rich foods among lactating mothers in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the magnitude of inadequate consumption of vitamin A-rich foods and associated factors among lactating mothers visiting public health facilities for child immunization and postnatal care in Girawa District, Eastern Ethiopia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Health Insights
December 2024
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Bakht Alruda, Ad Duwaym, Sudan.
Climate change represents an unprecedented global public health crisis with extensive and profound implications. The Lancet Commission identified it as the foremost health challenge of the 21st century. In 2015, air pollution alone caused approximately 9 million premature deaths worldwide.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Hunger Environ Nutr
January 2024
College of Population Health, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM.
We examined discordant food security (FS) status classification between the USDA 10-item and six-item FS Survey Modules (FSSMs) among students at a U.S. university.
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