November 10, 2023- A study of Abbott’s Healthy Food Rx, a food as medicine program that provides home-delivered medical prescriptions of healthy food to help address diabetes, showed clinically important benefits for people with diabetes.
The real-world study, which was conducted by the Public Health Institute’s Center for Wellness and Nutrition (PHI CWN) in an active community clinic over a 12-month period, found that Healthy Food Rx participants had lower A1C levels, improved diabetes self-management, and improved overall diet quality and food security.
In 2021, Abbott and its foundation the Abbott Fund launched the Healthy Food Rx program in Stockton, Calif., where 60% of the population has diabetes or prediabetes. The program, part of the company’s broader Future Well™Communities initiative, brings together Stockton-based organizations to help individuals living with diabetes by delivering free recipe-based food boxes to approximately 450 participants’ homes and providing hands-on education about managing their diabetes through nutrition. PHI CWN’s study showed the following results after 12 months including decreased A1C levels, improved diabetes self-management, improved diet quality, and improved food security.