A new, collaborative study conducted by researchers at the MANNA Institute, the research arm of the Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance (MANNA); the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing; and the Clinical Nutrition Support Services at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania reveals promising news for patients with heart failure and malnutrition risk. The results, published in BMC Nutrition, showed that providing patients with MANNA’s medically tailored meals (MTMs) significantly improved their diet and reduced their risk of malnutrition and rate of hospital readmission.

The research team was led by Penn Nursing’s Charlene Compher, PhD, RD, LDN, FASPEN, the Shearer Chair of Healthy Community Practices, Professor of Nutrition Science, and Director of Nutrition programs in the Department of Biobehavioral Health Sciences. The study compared the impact of delivering seven of MANNA’s MTMs versus 21 MTMs over a four-week period to patients discharged from the hospital with heart failure and at risk for malnutrition. Participants who received as few as seven meals per week showed meaningful improvements in adherence to American Heart Association Diet Goals and experienced 30-day hospital readmission rates below national averages.

“This study reinforces what we see every day in our work: food is medicine,” said MANNA CEO Sue Daugherty, RDN, LDN. “Even a modest intervention – just one meal a day – can help keep vulnerable patients nourished, stabilized, and out of the hospital. These findings make the case for including medically tailored meals as a standard and covered healthcare intervention.”

Over a four-week period, 46 patients were provided either seven or 21 MTMs per week. MANNA’s team of registered dietitians tailored the meals to the patients’ dietary needs, and MANNA delivered the meals to patients’ homes. The research team conducted telephone surveys at zero, 30- and 60-days post-discharge to assess changes in malnutrition risk using the validated 2-item Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST). The team also evaluated dietary habits with the 36-item Penn Healthy Diet Survey (PHD); screened for sarcopenia, a condition of muscle loss and weakness, using the SARC-F tool; and monitored hospital readmissions.

Across both groups, patients demonstrated improved adherence to heart-healthy diets, reduced risk of sarcopenia, and decreased malnutrition risk. The readmission rate was 9% for those receiving 21 meals per week and 12.5% for those receiving seven meals – well below the national average of 23%.

“This research moves MANNA’s mission forward by showing that medically tailored meals can make a measurable difference in the lives of patients,” said Jule Anne Henstenburg, PhD, MS, RDN, LDN, FAND, Director of Research & Policy at the MANNA Institute. “We’re proud to contribute to the growing body of evidence that supports that MTMs are a critical part of patient care.”

To learn more about MANNA and the MANNA Institute, visit mannapa.org.