Personalized meal delivery could be key to ‘substantial savings’ on healthcare costs, study finds

Meal delivery could be the solution to reduce Health care costsnutrition researchers say.

But not just any meal. For patients who have certain pathologies that require a special diet and limit their ability to perform daily activities, providing them medically adapted meals MTMs could lead to “substantial cost savings,” according to a study by the American Society for Nutrition.

Building on previous MTM programs that provided 10 meals per week for an eight-month period, the study concluded that a broader rollout would result in cost savings in nearly every U.S. state.

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Using data from nearly seven million U.S. adults with “diet-related chronic diseases,” the researchers used computer models to predict how MTM use would affect health care costs and hospitalizations.

The findings were presented at NUTRITION 2024, the flagship annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition held earlier this month in Chicago.

Meal delivery could be key to reducing health care costs, nutrition researchers say. (iStock)

Benefits of Medically Adapted Meals

With MTM programs, dietitian nutritionists create personalized meal plans that meet the individual health needs of each patient, according to a press release from the American Society for Nutrition.

Ready-to-eat meals are then delivered to patients’ homes.

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These programs have been tested in some areas of the United States, but are not yet widely available.

“Even after accounting for implementation costs, our research estimates that medically tailored meals (MTMs) would generate net savings in nearly every state for patients with diet-sensitive conditions (diabetes and heart disease) and limitations in daily activities,” Shuyue Deng, lead author of the study and a doctoral student at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Massachusetts, told Fox News Digital via email.

With MTM programs, registered dietitians create personalized meal plans that are then delivered to patients’ homes. (iStock)

Connecticut is the state with the highest savings, at $6,219 per year.

Other states with the largest savings include Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Arizona and Ohio.

This type of meal delivery has also been shown to reduce hospitalizations across states, Deng said.

Researchers found wide variation in cost savings and reductions in hospitalizations across states.

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Maryland, for example, had relatively low annual net policy cost savings per patient treated with MTM, but relatively high hospitalizations avoided, according to Deng.

Conversely, Connecticut had high net savings in annual insurance policy costs per patient treated with MTM, but relatively low hospitalizations avoided.

According to the results, California has the largest number of MTM-eligible patients (over 1,220,000) and Alaska the smallest (about 17,800).

Researchers found that additional benefits could include increased independence and quality of life for patients who otherwise would not be able to shop for groceries and prepare meals. (iStock)

Researchers found that additional benefits could include increased independence and quality of life for patients who otherwise would not be able to shop for groceries and prepare meals.

“Based on our new findings, health plans should consider incorporating MTMs into their care plan for patients with chronic diseases and limited activities of daily living,” Deng said.

“State policymakers should also look for ways to expand access to MTMs through insurance coverage and public health initiatives.”

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Christopher Gardner, Ph.D., a nutrition scientist at the Stanford Prevention Research Center and professor of medicine at Stanford University in California, agreed that states could reduce health care costs by providing patient-friendly meals.

“There is strong evidence that eating habits “are important for optimal health,” Gardner, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.

With MTM programs, registered dietitians create personalized meal plans that meet each patient’s individual health needs. (iStock)

“Poor eating habits are linked to chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. Treating these diseases in the health system is very expensive.”

Make healthy dietary changes can help prevent or treat these chronic diseases, which will reduce health care costs, the doctor said.

“If medically tailored meals can help someone with or at risk for a chronic disease make healthy dietary changes, the costs of providing those meals could be covered by reduced health care costs,” he added.

“Food is medicine”

Last year, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) developed an initiative called “Food is Medicine,” which focuses on “integrating consistent access to food and nutrition resources,” according to the HHS website.

“One of the principles of Food is Medicine is to tailor or personalize meals for individuals/patients to increase satisfaction and increase consumption,” Gardner said.

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The approach also includes medically tailored grocery products (deliveries or subsidies of healthy grocery products) and product prescriptions (deliveries or provision of healthy vegetables and fruits).

“Medically tailored meals would be part of a broader, holistic strategy to support healthy, sustainable dietary change,” Gardner added.

The importance of personalized meals

According to Gardner, when meal plans aren’t personalized, people are less likely to stick to them.

“Previous studies have shown that simply manufacturing and supplying healthy meals “This is not enough to support substantial and sustainable dietary change,” he said.

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If meals don’t match a person’s taste preferences or food intolerances, or aren’t “culturally appropriate,” they’re less likely to be eaten, Gardner said.

“Poor eating habits are linked to chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. Treating these diseases in the health system is very expensive.”

If meals are not tailored to the patient’s clinical condition—such as low sodium for heart failurelow in simple carbohydrates for diabetes or low in saturated fat for heart disease — those meals won’t be as effective, the expert noted.

Cost is one of the main barriers to implementing MTMs, the study said.

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“Costs associated with MTMs include the cost of producing and delivering meals, the cost of hiring registered dietitians, and the administrative cost of managing the programs,” the researchers wrote.

“Medically tailored meals would be part of a broader overall strategy to support healthy and sustainable dietary change,” said one nutrition expert. (iStock)

The person would also need the necessary kitchen appliances to heat and store the meals provided, Gardner added.

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Questions also remain about the optimal number of meals and target duration of these programs, he added.

In the future, the researchers plan to conduct more in-depth research on factors influencing the cost of the program, such as variations in food prices across the country.