A weekly supply of fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains may do more than help families put nutritious meals on the table. New research suggests that when such support continues for years, rather than weeks or months, it may contribute to measurable improvements in blood pressure and weight among adults.

Researchers at Mass General Brigham studied a long-running “Food Is Medicine” program offered through the Revere Community Health Center’s Food Pantry. Adults who received weekly plant-based grocery packages for an average of 2.7 years experienced dose-dependent improvements in several measures of cardiometabolic health, meaning those who received more packages tended to see greater benefits. The findings were published in Preventing Chronic Disease.

“Our results suggest that plant-based food interventions are promising and, in the future, should focus on longer duration for improving cardiovascular and metabolic health,” said senior author Lauren Fiechtner, MD, MPH, Division Chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Mass General Brigham for Children and Senior Health and Research Advisor at the Greater Boston Food Bank.

The study grew out of a longstanding partnership between Mass General Brigham Revere Community Health Center and the Greater Boston Food Bank. The food bank has provided nearly 379,000 pounds of food to the health centre this year alone, helping support patients who may have difficulty consistently accessing nutritious foods.

Researchers examined health data from 68 adults who received an average of 97 grocery packages over 2.7 years. Designed by a dietitian using the USDA 2020 Dietary Guidelines, the packages included fresh fruits and vegetables, canned beans, nut butter and whole grains. Each weekly package provided enough food for three meals a day for every member of a participant’s household.

The longer and more frequently people participated, the greater the improvements appeared to be. For every 100 food packages received, researchers estimated an average reduction of 3.21 mmHg in diastolic blood pressure, 2.6 kilograms in body weight and 1.04 kg/m² in body mass index.

Among participants who began the program with elevated blood pressure, systolic blood pressure also declined. However, researchers did not find significant improvements in hemoglobin A1c, a commonly used measure of longer-term blood sugar control. The findings therefore suggest benefits in some cardiometabolic measures, but not across every health indicator examined.

“This paper has the potential to change the conversation about Food Is Medicine interventions,” said first author Jacob Mirsky, MD, MA, a primary care physician at the Revere Community Health Center and medical director of the Food Pantry. He said future programs should consider frequent, high-quality and substantial food packages delivered over longer periods, giving patients a greater opportunity to benefit from sustained access to nutritious food.

More information: Jacob Mirsky et al, Plant-Based Medically Tailored Groceries From a Food Pantry and Adult Cardiometabolic Outcomes, Preventing Chronic Disease. DOI: 10.5888/pcd23.260023

Journal information: Preventing Chronic Disease Provided by Mass General Brigham