Food Environment and Heart Health in Rural American Indian Communities
Understanding the Role of the Food Environment on Diet and Health in Rural American Indian Communities: the Strong Heart Food Environment Study
This project aims to understand how food environments in rural American Indian communities affect diet and heart health.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Washington NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Seattle, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11127466 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
We want to learn more about how the places where people live, their households, and individual choices influence what they eat and their risk for heart disease. Our team will build on information gathered over 34 years from more than 4,000 American Indian individuals in 12 rural communities. We will add new information about the physical and social aspects of their food environments, like access to healthy foods and cultural eating practices. This will help us understand how these factors connect to diet quality and heart health.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: This work is relevant for individuals in rural American Indian communities who are concerned about diet quality and cardiovascular health.
Not a fit: Patients outside of rural American Indian communities may not directly benefit from the specific findings of this community-focused research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new ways to improve diet and reduce heart disease risk in American Indian communities by addressing environmental factors.
How similar studies have performed: Previous large-scale studies have highlighted high rates of obesity and poor diet quality in these communities, but this project is novel in its focus on multi-level food environment factors.
Where this research is happening
Seattle, United States
- University of Washington — Seattle, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Fretts, Amanda Mae — University of Washington
- Study coordinator: Fretts, Amanda Mae
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.