American Heart Association Advocates for 'Food Is Medicine' to Combat Chronic Diseases

The American Heart Association has highlighted the potential of 'food is medicine' (FIM) programs in improving diet quality and food security among individuals with chronic diseases, based on a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Despite promising results, the review identified significant gaps in research, underscoring the need for larger, higher quality, and longer-term studies to fully understand the clinical outcomes of such programs. The Association's Health Care by Food™ initiative is at the forefront of addressing these gaps, funding 23 pilot trials to explore the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of FIM interventions. These efforts aim to integrate nutritious food into health care as a fundamental part of treating diet-related chronic conditions.

Published in the Association's flagship journal Circulation, the scientific statement calls for standardized interventions and a stepwise research approach to advance the FIM field. With 47 million Americans facing food insecurity and the U.S. spending approximately $50.4 billion annually on treating diet-related cardiometabolic diseases, the initiative represents a critical step towards reducing health care costs and improving public health. The statement serves as a call to action for researchers, clinicians, and policymakers to invest in the science necessary to make FIM a cornerstone of chronic disease prevention and treatment.