An 8-month program providing medically tailored meals improved diet quality and access to healthy food for adults with Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, while also lowering blood pressure and blood sugar, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2026. The findings suggest that food is medicine interventions could be a scalable way to improve chronic disease outcomes, particularly for people with limited resources.
The study, funded by the American Heart Association’s Health Care by Food initiative, enrolled 110 adults with coexisting Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Half received standard dosing of 10 medically tailored meals per week for eight months, while the other half received standard dosing for three months followed by a gradual reduction to five meals per week by the end. Both groups also received nutrition counseling, cooking demonstrations, and a heart health education program based on Life’s Essential 8.
After eight months, overall diet quality improved in both groups, with a 3-point improvement on a Mediterranean-style eating pattern scale. Participants more than doubled their chances of achieving higher food security status. HbA1c fell by about 0.5%, and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure dropped by about 4 mm Hg. Notably, the gradual reduction in meals did not diminish these benefits when combined with the education program, suggesting a more cost-effective approach.
“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,” said lead author Nour Makarem, Ph.D., FAHA, assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. The research addresses a gap in prior studies by examining how meal dosing influences outcomes, which is critical because medically tailored meals are expensive. “A gradual taper of medically tailored meals does not necessarily reduce the effectiveness,” said Kevin Volpp, M.D., Ph.D., scientific lead of the initiative. “This could be helpful in providing a more sustainable and scalable way to improve cardiometabolic health for more people.”
The implications are significant: more than half of U.S. adults have poor-quality diets, a leading risk factor for cardiometabolic disease, according to a 2025 American Heart Association scientific statement. Food insecurity affected nearly 14% of U.S. households in 2024, per the U.S. Department of Agriculture. With over 51% of U.S. adults having two or more chronic conditions, expanding medically tailored meal programs could help tackle the chronic disease epidemic. The study was conducted in New York City with a diverse population and is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. The full abstract and 2026 Online Program Planner are available. Related research includes Traditional Navajo medically tailored meals improved heart failure outcomes and Access to healthy foods linked to improved quality of life for adults with heart failure. For more information, visit heart.org.
