Educational strategy to improve cardiovascular health and mitigate food insecurity: Rationale for the E-DUCASS program

Abstract

Introduction and Objectives: Food insecurity is involved in the most important health problem worldwide: the rise in non-communicable diseases. It affects populations in poor countries and disadvantaged populations in affluent countries. Lifestyle improvement strategies are often costly and only effective in the short term. Our aim is to demonstrate that an educational program on a healthy lifestyle which increases health literacy could improve long-term health and mitigate food insecurity. Methods: This work will conduct a 24-month intervention to improve cardiovascular health, measured by the Life's Simple 7 criteria, in vulnerable families (460 individuals) at risk of food insecurity. It entails initial training through workshops (basic intervention model) followed by randomization into three groups: (1) no further intervention; (2) a traditional advanced intervention model every 3 months; and (3) an e-learning advanced intervention model every 15 days with YouTube videos or WhatsApp/text message. In a next step, we will explore if the lifestyle intervention improve families' food insecurity score according to the criteria established by the Food and Agriculture Organization and measured by the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES). Finally, we will analyze which of the two advanced intervention models, either face to face or virtual, are more effective at improving cardiovascular health and food literacy. Conclusions: If this type of program -not very complex or costly -has favorable effects, it could be proposed as a model for improving these populations' state of vulnerability. The E-DUCASS program aims to use this strategy to improve cardiovascular health in vulnerable populations in a scientific, efficient, safe, and sustainable manner.

Adherence to a Mediterranean lifestyle improves metabolic status in coronary heart disease patients: A prospective analysis from the CORDIOPREV study

“…These results could be due to the fact that the CORDIOPREV study is a dietary interventional trial including only dietary advice and not physical activity, rest, or social habit recommendations. Further clinical trials with educational programs on implementing MEDLIFE recommendations that include diet, physical activity, rest, and social habits, such as the E‐DUCASS study [56] and the PREDIMED‐plus study [53], could elucidate whether these interventions are effective for a better cardiometabolic status in CHD patients.…”

Effect of the Mediterranean diet and probiotic supplementation in the management of mild cognitive impairment: Rationale, methods, and baseline characteristics

“…Although several studies evaluated single nutrients and foods ( 16 – 18 ), the study of overall dietary patterns may provide a more powerful tool for assessing dietary habits, as well as the synergistic and cumulative effects of specific nutrients against these diseases. Results from recent clinical studies suggest that the adherence to a Mediterranean diet, characterized by high consumption of vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, wholes grains, olive oil (virgin or extra-virgin olive oil –VOO and EVOO, respectively) as the main fat (monounsaturated –MUFA fat) source, could be related to a reduced risk of developing chronic diseases as cognitive impairment and dementia ( 19 – 24 ). On the other hand, efficacy of probiotics administration, such as Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus strains, have been evaluated for neurodegenerative disorders ( 25 – 27 ).…”