Summary
U.S. hospitals are increasingly using food as a form of medicine to prevent chronic diseases. Studies show that poor diets contribute significantly to diseases like heart disease and diabetes. Some hospitals have started programs to help patients access healthy food, but challenges remain because food isn't always treated like other medical treatments.
Key Facts
- U.S. spends more on health care per person than any other developed country but has high rates of chronic disease.
- Experts say the U.S. health care system focuses more on treating sickness than preventing it.
- Research shows poor diet plays a big role in diseases like heart disease and diabetes.
- A study found that an unhealthy diet is responsible for 45% of cardiometabolic deaths in the U.S.
- Americans get over half their calories from ultraprocessed foods, increasing chronic disease risk.
- Mediterranean countries consume fewer ultraprocessed foods and have lower chronic disease rates.
- Hospital programs are trying to integrate "food as medicine" but face challenges because food isn't always seen as a medical treatment.
- Poor diets contribute to more than $50 billion in health costs annually in the U.S.
