Food as Medicine: A Quasi-Randomized Control Trial of Healthy Foods for Chronic Disease Management
Food as Medicine: A Quasi-Randomized Control Trial of Healthy Foods for Chronic Disease Management
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of providing healthy foods and nutrition education on participants' body weight, blood pressure, and average blood sugar level.
The healthy food offerings tested in this study will help determine which option is best to improve health outcomes among Cleveland Clinic Akron General patients with chronic conditions. Findings from this study could guide doctors in deciding on appropriate nutrition and dietitian services for Cleveland Clinic patients.
Participants will receive healthy food items for 15 weeks and nutrition counseling and education to support chronic disease management at no cost. The healthy food items will consist of either medically-tailored pre-prepared meals, or a weekly produce box with recipes depending on the study arm. Participants must complete a baseline study visit, one nutritional counseling session via phone, 2 to 4 nutrition education videos, and a 16-week post-intervention study visit.
Inclusion Criteria:
Adults 18 years of age or older who are patients at Akron General Center for Family Medicine
Have body mass index (BMI) equal to or greater that 30kg/m2 AND
Have at least one of the following diagnoses determined based on patients' problem list in the electronic medical record (EMR) and the international classification of diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10) codes:
Have NOT participated in nutrition counseling at the University of Akron Nutrition Center within the past 6 months
Exclusion Criteria: