Recipe4Health program for weight and heart health
Effectiveness of Recipe4Health on Obesity and Cardiometabolic Health: A natural experiment
This project compares Medi‑Cal patients who get Recipe4Health’s produce prescriptions and health coaching with similar patients who don’t, to see if it helps weight and heart-related health.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Stanford University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Stanford, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11290301 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
From your perspective, this project uses California’s new CalAIM Medicaid changes as a natural experiment to compare people enrolled in Recipe4Health (produce prescriptions, group and individual health coaching, and care coordination) with similar Medi‑Cal patients who do not get the program. The team will use clinic records, Medicaid data, and active follow-up to track body mass index, blood pressure, blood sugar, and other cardiometabolic markers over time. Data collection aims to start right away so follow-up can be completed before the CalAIM waiver ends in 2026. The goal is to understand whether providing medically supportive food plus coaching through Medicaid is linked to better nutrition and heart health for patients like you.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are Medi‑Cal beneficiaries in California who are eligible for or enrolled in Recipe4Health services such as produce prescriptions and health coaching.
Not a fit: People who are not enrolled in Medi‑Cal, live outside the program areas, or are not offered Recipe4Health services are unlikely to be directly included or benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could show that providing produce and coaching through Medicaid helps people lose weight and improve diabetes and heart‑related measures.
How similar studies have performed: Related Food‑is‑Medicine programs and pilot trials have shown promising improvements in diet and some metabolic measures, but large real‑world Medicaid evaluations like this are still limited.
Where this research is happening
Stanford, United States
- Stanford University — Stanford, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Rosas, Lisa Goldman — Stanford University
- Study coordinator: Rosas, Lisa Goldman
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.