People who received personalized nutrition education in a series of sessions conducted at their usual grocery store significantly improved their adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, in a study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 71^st Annual scientific session. The diet, which emphasizes vegetables, fruits, and whole grains while limiting foods high in saturated fat, sugar, and sodium, has been shown to lower blood pressure and LDL, or ” bad” cholesterol.

The Supermarket and Web-based Intervention Targeting Nutrition (SuperWIN) trial, a partnership between university researchers and grocer Kroger, is the first to offer a nutrition intervention in each participant’s home grocery store, guided by their personal data purchasing food. Comparing participants’ eating habits at the start of the study and three months later, in-store nutrition education sessions significantly increased DASH adherence scores by 4.7 points in more than one group of Improved standards of care, which increased DASH scores by a baseline amount of 5.8 points alone. Combining in-store nutrition education sessions with online tools and training increased DASH scores an additional 3.8 points compared to nutrition education sessions without the online resources.

Small changes in diet actually have huge health impacts, especially if they are sustained over time. SuperWIN can help bridge the gap between current dietary guidelines and low public adherence to these recommendations. It’s a small step, but SuperWIN really highlights the potential of research partnerships beyond the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industries to design and test new healthcare approaches and reach patients in their communities. This study, for example, really demonstrates the effectiveness of a dietary intervention in the grocery store.”

Dylan L. Steen, MD, Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and lead study author

The university research team led the design and analysis of the study, while Kroger provided in-store dieticians, clinical space, and each participant’s grocery purchase data collected by a loyalty card. Newly issued Kroger. A total of 247 participants were recruited through a primary care network. After completing an initial screening and baseline data collection process, participants were randomized into three different study groups.

The control group received enhanced medical nutrition therapy in a single in-store session with a dietitian, but no other nutrition education. One intervention group received six additional one-on-one in-store nutrition education sessions focused on following the DASH diet. The other intervention group also received a total of seven one-on-one in-store nutrition education sessions, as well as training on online shopping tools, free home grocery delivery, identification of healthier foods and meal planning. Each session in both intervention groups was guided by up-to-date, individualized purchasing data that was provided to the dietitian and participant for review.

“These interventions really allowed for the individualization of the DASH diet for each participant,” Steen said. “Dietitians taught participants how to eat better in the aisles of their home grocery store. The magic is that not only are they dietitians, but their expertise extends to store product inventory and customer favorite brands and products. provided information about each participant’s diet and purchases, they were able to use these results to better incorporate healthy changes into each participant’s lifestyle and budget.

Dietitians also used information about participants’ tastes, cooking experience and food allergies to make personalized recommendations.

Going forward, Steen said rigorous validation of retail-based interventions will be key to driving innovation and adoption. New services can also be designed to better integrate with the care provided by primary care physicians. The researchers plan to further analyze the data to gain additional insights into participants’ experiences, food literacy, purchases, and other health markers.

The study was funded by Kroger, which is the largest supermarket chain in the United States by revenue and operates a large chain of pharmacies and health clinics.

Steen will be available to the media at a press conference on Sunday, April 3 at 9:30 a.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. UTC in room 103AB.

Steen will present the study, “A Multisite, Randomized, Controlled Trial of a Supermarket and Web-based Intervention Targeting Nutrition for Cardiovascular Risk Reduction,” on Sunday, April 3 at 8:00 a.m. ET/12:00 p.m. UTC in the Main Tent, Hall D.