Physician-Led Online Nutrition Intervention Program Is Practical, Cost-Effective, and Successful at Improving Patient Health

WASHINGTON, D.C.—An online physician-led plant-based nutrition intervention program for patients with type 2 diabetes is practical, cost-effective, and successful at improving patient health, finds a new study by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. The program led to reductions in diabetes medications, body weight, A1C, and total and LDL cholesterol levels.

“An abundance of research already shows that a plant-based diet is optimal for helping patients manage and improve type 2 diabetes,” says Vanita Rahman, MD, the lead author of the study, who is a board-certified internal medicine and lifestyle medicine physician and clinic director of the Barnard Medical Center in Washington, D.C. “However, this has not translated into clinical practice due to factors including lack of nutrition education for clinicians, short duration of office visits, and limited insurance coverage for nutrition interventions.”

She adds, “Our study demonstrated that an online nutrition intervention program led by physicians and dietitians can overcome these barriers, allowing providers to incorporate plant-based nutrition into clinical practice and help improve patient outcomes.”

For the study, 76 adults with type 2 diabetes were enrolled in an online nutrition intervention program with the goal of providing accessible, live, ongoing nutrition education and support using a cost structure economically viable for participants and providers. The self-pay program cost $399 per person, which when divided across the 12 classes is a cost in line with typical copays for an office visit with a primary care or specialty care provider. The program was structured as a self-pay program to avoid the need for insurance coverage or prior authorization. The cost covered the 12 online weekly classes, laboratory testing for hemoglobin A1C and lipid levels, a digital body weight scale, and informative books. 

Each 60-minute class was led by a physician and a registered dietitian and included education about nutrition’s role in diabetes; information on plant-based eating; practical tips for grocery shopping, cooking, and dining out; and opportunities for peer-to-peer mentoring and support.

All participants were asked to consume a low-fat plant-based diet composed of whole grains, vegetables, legumes, and fruits with no restriction on calorie intake, while excluding all foods containing animal products and minimizing the intake of high-fat plant-based foods.

Among the 58 participants who completed the program, average body weight decreased by 3.7 kilograms (about 8 pounds), and A1C decreased by 0.6%. Total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels decreased among participants not taking lipid-lowering medications, and 22% of participants reduced the dosages of diabetes medications.

“More than 1 billion people globally are expected to be living with diabetes in 2050, but online nutrition intervention programs are an effective way for clinicians to reach many patients at once and educate them about the power of plant-based nutrition to improve their condition and hopefully stem the worldwide diabetes epidemic,” adds Dr. Rahman.