Improving Diet Can Lead to Better (and Cheaper) Health Outcomes

Hippocrates’ dictum “Let Food Be Thy Medicine” could be as relevant today as it was more than 2,000 years ago.

An astonishing two-thirds of Americans are overweight and nearly 10 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product is consumed by obesity-related illnesses.  Congestive heart failure affects more than six million Americans and the standard pharmaceutical treatment can be thrown off if the patient eats the wrong food.

The response from the healthcare industry to these diet-related crises has largely focused on drugs and other medical interventions. However, recent research suggests that crafting the right diet could potentially improve outcomes and reduce costs.

Under one recent program in Massachusetts designed to support the nutritional needs of low-income patients with diet-sensitive conditions like heart failure and kidney disease, 10 ready-to-eat meals were delivered weekly to each patient’s home. The meals were tailored by a dietician to meet the individual medical needs of the patients.  A 2019 study found that patients in the program had 50 percent fewer hospitalizations and 72 percent fewer admissions to skilled nursing facilities—and there was a 16 percent reduction in healthcare costs.  

In Pennsylvania, another program provided fresh, nutritious food weekly to diabetic patients. The meals resulted in a reduction of hemoglobin A1c levels, a marker of diabetes severity, from 9.6 percent to 7.5 percent. Diabetes medications typically achieve a smaller reduction – just 1 percent - in hemoglobin A1c levels.  

These compelling results are spurring local and state lawmakers to fund similar diet-related programs. California recently launched a $6 million, three-year project to improve nutrition for the state’s Medicaid recipients, and New York City now has a “Pharmacy to Farm” program, in which low-income patients with high blood pressure can redeem “Health Bucks” from pharmacies for fresh produce at farmers' markets across the city.