The MANNA Institute, the research arm of MANNA, has published new research that shows clients treated with home-delivered, medically tailored meals (MTMs) achieve a significant decrease in malnutrition risk and meaningful changes in other factors that positively impact management of diseases, including diabetes and hypertension. The study, “Health outcomes reported by healthcare providers and clients of a community-based medically tailored meal program,” was published in BMC Nutrition.

The research, a comprehensive evaluation of a community-based MTM program, is the first-of-its-kind conducted by a Food Is Medicine Coalition (FIMC) agency. FIMC is a national coalition of nonprofit organizations that provide medically tailored meals and groceries, medical nutrition therapy, nutrition counseling and education to serve people with serious illness. The MANNA Institute study found that malnutrition risk significantly decreased within the client population during the MTM program. Significant improvements in blood pressure among those with hypertension and hemoglobin A1C among those with diabetes were also observed, indicating that MTMs may enable participants to better manage complex illnesses.

Specifically, the new study looked at subsets of 1,959 clients who received MANNA’s MTM services for at least two months between 2020 and 2022. Key findings showed:

• Of the clients at risk for malnutrition when starting the program, 56% experienced a clinically significant reduction in malnutrition risk by program finish;
• 62% of clients with hypertension reduced their blood pressure by five or more units (mmHg);
• Among clients with diabetes, median hemoglobin A1C dropped from 8.3% to 7.7% indicating improved blood sugar control;
• Most clients (82%) beginning the program in poor physical health either remained stable or improved their self-rated physical health status by the end of the program; and
• Body mass index (BMI) remained stable or decreased for 88% of clients who started the program with obesity.

The ability of MANNA’s medically tailored meals program to improve disease management has important health and economic implications. Malnutrition is connected to functional decline and higher rates of hospitalization, institutionalization and death, costing the U.S. $157 billion annually. Lowered blood pressure leads to lower risk of heart attack and stroke, which can decrease disability and healthcare costs associated with heart disease. Decreased hemoglobin A1C, a reflection of better blood sugar control in diabetes, can lead to less cardiovascular events for people with the disease. With more than 38 million people diagnosed with diabetes in the U.S., this can significantly decrease the cost of diabetes care. In Pennsylvania, alone, increasing access to medically tailored meals for at-risk patients could amount to $4,370 in annual net savings per patient, representing the second highest level of health care cost savings in the nation according to a prior comparative study.

“Our research shows that receiving medically tailored meals plays an important role in improving nutrition-related health outcomes for individuals with serious illness,” said Jule Anne Henstenburg, PhD, RD, LDN, FAND, Director of Research and Policy at MANNA. “The results of this study can help policymakers recognize that food is medicine when integrated into standard disease management. Policy that supports universal access to medically tailored meal programs for this purpose can reduce the burden of chronic illness on patients and the healthcare system, overall.”

Learn more about The MANNA Institute here.