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Food as Medicine: A Quasi-Randomized Control Trial of Healthy Foods for Chronic Disease Management

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Obesity
Hypertension
Type 2 Diabetes
Pre-diabetes
Interventions
Other: Produce box and recipes
Other: Medically-tailored meals
Registration Number
NCT05174078
Lead Sponsor
Cleveland Clinic Akron General
Brief Summary

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.

Detailed Description

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.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
70
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:

    1. Pre-type 2 diabetes mellitus
    2. Type 2 diabetes mellitus
    3. Hypertension
  • Have NOT participated in nutrition counseling at the University of Akron Nutrition Center within the past 6 months

Exclusion Criteria
  • Food allergies
  • Pregnant
  • No access to internet
  • Need English language interpretation
  • Currently participating in a structured weight loss program or using weight loss medications
  • Any condition that, in the Investigator's judgement, interferes with the ability to adhere to study requirements.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Produce Box and RecipesProduce box and recipesWeekly produce box delivered to participants' homes and access to recipes via the internet for 15 weeks AND one medical nutrition therapy session with a dietician + viewership of 2 to 4 nutrition education videos.
Medically-Tailored Meals (MTM)Medically-tailored mealsMedically-tailored meals delivered to participants' homes for 15 weeks AND one medical nutrition therapy session with a dietician + viewership of 2 to 4 nutrition education videos.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in participants' body weightFrom baseline visit (W1) to 16 week visit and at 6 months and 12 months from baseline

Percent weight loss

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Pre-type 2 diabetes mellitus: Change in number of medicationsFrom baseline visit (W1) to 16 week visit and at 6 months and 12 months from baseline

Absolute change in number of medications

Pre-type 2 diabetes mellitus: Change in medication dosageFrom baseline visit (W1) to 16 week visit and at 6 months and 12 months from baseline

Percent change in medication dosage

Pre-type 2 diabetes mellitus: Change in HbA1cFrom baseline visit (W1) to 16 week visit and at 6 months and 12 months from baseline

Absolute change in HbA1c

Type 2 diabetes mellitus: Change in number of medicationsFrom baseline visit (W1) to 16 week visit and at 6 months and 12 months from baseline

Absolute change in number of medications

Type 2 diabetes mellitus: Change in medication dosageFrom baseline visit (W1) to 16 week visit and at 6 months and 12 months from baseline

Percent change in medication dosage

Receipt of healthy food items: The Hunger Vital Sign scaleBaseline visit (W1) to week 16 visit

Values on the scale are: often true, sometimes true, and never true. A positive response to either or both of the first two values (often true, sometimes true) identifies households as being at risk for food insecurity

Receipt of healthy food items: Eating at America's Table scaleBaseline visit (W1) to week 16 visit

Each reported frequency is expressed as a daily average ranging from 0 to 5. The estimate of the daily number of Pyramid/MyPyramid servings is calculated as average daily frequency x the number of Pyramid/MyPyramid servings for the portion size, summed across all food groups. A higher score for fruits and vegetables indicates a better outcome.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus: Change in HbA1cFrom baseline visit (W1) to 16 week visit and at 6 months and 12 months from baseline

Absolute change in HbA1c

Hypertension: Change in number of medicationsBaseline visit (W1) to 16 week visit

Absolute change in number of medications

Hypertension: Change in medication dosageBaseline visit (W1) to 16 week visit

Percent change in medication dosage

Receipt of healthy food items: Patient Health Questionnaire-8 Depression ScaleBaseline visit (W1) to week 16 visit

Eight items, each of which is scored 0 to 3, providing a 0 to 24 severity score. Overall score is the sum of the 8 items. A score of 10 or greater is considered major depression, 20 or more is severe major depression.

Nutrition Education: Healthy Eating and Weight Self-Efficacy ScaleBaseline visit (W1) to 16-week visit

Values on the scale are: Strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, and strongly agree. Responses of agree and strongly agree indicate a better outcome.

Nutrition Education: Self-Efficacy for Managing Chronic Diseases ScaleBaseline visit (W1) to 16-week visit

Six items, each of which is scored 0 to 10. Overall score is the mean of the 6 items. A higher score indicates a better outcome.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Cleveland Clinic Akron General

🇺🇸

Akron, Ohio, United States

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