A medically tailored meals program delivered over eight months improved diet quality, food security and key cardiometabolic markers in adults with Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2026 in Chicago. The findings suggest that food is medicine interventions, typically reserved for people with advanced illness, may be effective earlier in the disease process to prevent worsening of chronic conditions.
The study enrolled 110 adults with an average age of 63; 68% were women, 47% identified as Hispanic and 43% as Black. Participants were recruited from New York City neighborhoods with high rates of chronic disease and premature death. Half received standard dosing of 10 medically tailored meals per week for eight months. The other half received the same dose for three months, followed by a gradual reduction of one meal per month, ending with five meals per week in the final month. Both groups also received nutrition counseling, cooking demonstrations and a heart health education curriculum based on the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8.
After eight months, diet quality improved in both groups by about 3 points on a scale measuring adherence to a heart-healthy Mediterranean-style eating pattern. Participants were more than twice as likely to achieve a higher food security status. HbA1c, a measure of blood sugar, fell by approximately 0.5%, and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure dropped by about 4 mm Hg. These improvements occurred regardless of whether participants received the full meal dose or the tapered dose, suggesting that a gradual reduction combined with education may be as effective and more cost-effective.
“This study found that food is medicine programs, when complemented by adequate heart health promotion efforts, may be impactful for prevention and could meaningfully improve health outcomes in adults at high risk for heart disease, particularly for people with limited resources and/or access to healthy foods,” said lead author Nour Makarem, Ph.D., FAHA, assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s Mailman School of Public Health.
The research matters because poor diet is a leading risk factor for cardiometabolic disease, and more than half of U.S. adults have suboptimal diets, according to the American Heart Association’s 2025 scientific statement, A Systematic Review of “Food Is Medicine” Randomized Controlled Trials for Noncommunicable Disease in the United States. Food insecurity affected nearly 14% of U.S. households in 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Together, poor diet and food insecurity contribute to obesity, a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes.
The project was funded by the American Heart Association’s Health Care by Food initiative, which launched in 2023 to integrate evidence-based nutrition interventions into healthcare systems. Kevin Volpp, M.D., Ph.D., scientific lead of the initiative, noted that medically tailored meals are expensive, and a tapered approach could provide a more sustainable and scalable way to improve cardiometabolic health for more people. The findings build on earlier Association research, including studies showing that Traditional Navajo medically tailored meals improved heart failure outcomes and that for Black adults in food deserts, food delivery & dietary guidance reduced blood pressure.
Makarem said expanding eligibility, increasing accessibility and enhancing clinician referral pathways could improve diet quality, alleviate food insecurity and enhance quality of life for patients with complex chronic conditions. With more than 51% of U.S. adults having two or more chronic health conditions, she said these interventions are a promising approach to tackle the chronic disease epidemic. The abstract is available in the abstract and the 2026 Online Program Planner. A Spanish news release is also available. The study was conducted at a single site, and larger multi-site trials are needed to confirm the results.
