The effect of home delivered DASH meals on the diets of older adults with cardiovascular disease
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abstract
BackgroundThere is little information regarding whether free therapeutically designed meals have a beneficial impact on the diets of older adults with hyperlipidemia and/or hypertension.ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to determine the degree to which dietary change is influenced by providing one therapeutically designed meal per day.DesignWe conducted a oneyear randomized controlled trial among 298 people aged 60 or older with hyperlipidemia and/or hypertension where 50% of participants received seven therapeutic meals/week for 12 months. Those in need of dietary change at baseline (n=210) as measured by accordance to the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet were examined. Change in intermediate DASH accordance, DASH accordance and the nutrients that comprise the DASH diet were measured using 24hour food recalls at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. Chisquare tests, ttests, and multiple regression were used to examine the association between receipt of meals and dietary change over time.ResultsParticipants who received meals were 20% (p=0.001) more likely to reach intermediate DASH accordance at 6 months and 18% (p=0.007) more likely to meet saturated fat accordance at 12 months compared to those who did not receive meals. When stratified by race and income gains were marginally larger for whites and higher income individuals.ConclusionsDelivery of seven therapeutic meals per week was found to increase compliance with dietary recommendations among noncompliant older adults with cardiovascular disease.This project was funded by the Administration on Aging (#90AM2665).
