(OR01-02-26) Developing a Culturally Tailored, Multi-Component Food-is-Medicine Intervention Toward Sustainable Dietary Behaviors for South Asians With Cardiometabolic Disease

Saturday, July 25, 2026

8:42 AM - 8:54 AM ET

Location: National Harbor 4-5

Presenting Author(s)

NF

Nurgul Fitzgerald, PhD, MS, RDN

Associate Professor
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States

Disclosure(s): No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Co-Author(s)

KN

Kelly Naranjo

God's Love We Deliver, United States
AK

Aparna Kalbag

Institute for Health, Healthcare Policy and Aging Research, United States
LZ

Lisa Zullig

God's Love We Deliver, United States
MA

Maya Azar Atallah

Rutgers University, United States
PK

Parth K. Kharkar

Institute for Health, Healthcare Policy and Aging Research, United States
AA

Abdulrahman Alsayegh

Rutgers University, United States
AV

Aayush Visaria

Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, United States
SS

Soko Setoguchi

Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; Institute for Health, Healthcare Policy and Aging Research, United States

Disclosure(s):

Nurgul Fitzgerald, PhD, MS, RDN: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Objectives: To assess the feasibility and acceptability of a culturally tailored Food-is-Medicine (FIM) intervention for South Asian (SA) adults with cardiometabolic disease.

Methods: Nineteen SA adults (age 18–80 years) with cardiometabolic disease were enrolled into 1- or 2-month FIM arms with 3 sequentially delivered components: home-delivered medically tailored meals (MTM), culturally tailored groceries (GRO) from a SA grocery store and virtual teaching kitchen (TK) sessions adapted for SA cuisine. Pre-and post-program (3 months after FIM) assessments included component satisfaction, nutrition knowledge self-efficacy (5-point Likert type scales), dietary intake (24-hour recall via ASA24©), and food label use (times/week).

Results: The intervention was successfully developed and implemented through community partnerships across all components. Participants (mean age 55 y) were satisfied or very satisfied with MTM quantity (72% and 28%, respectively), but satisfaction was lower for taste, variety/quality, and meal selection (44%, 28%, and 44% dissatisfied, respectively). For GRO, 78–83% were very satisfied with amount, freshness, variety, online ordering, and delivery; 67–72% were very satisfied with quality and cultural appropriateness. For TK, 77–83% were very satisfied with educational content, instructor qualifications, virtual delivery, and culturally relevant recipes; 61–72% were very satisfied with session logistics, group format, hands-on cooking, and online materials. Reported food label use ≥5 times/week increased from 33% to 83%. All participants reported improved nutrition knowledge self-efficacy. Overall program experience was rated “excellent” by 83% and “good” by 17%. Mean intakes of total calories, carbohydrates, refined grains, and sugars decreased from pre- to post-program, while whole grain intake increased, though differences were not statistically significant.

Conclusions: The culturally tailored FIM intervention was feasible and highly acceptable, with strongest satisfaction for GRO and TK. Lower MTM satisfaction suggests meals alone may be insufficient for sustainable diet change; integrating nutrition education, cooking skills, and food access may be essential for lasting behavioral impact. Larger trials are needed to confirm effectiveness.

Funding Sources: NIH/NIMHD