O1035: Efficacy of a 5210 Prescription Program with Fresh Connect in an Intensive Health Behavior and Lifestyle Treatment Practice

Background: Obesity in children continues to be a significant threat for youth and a public health concern. West Virginia leads the country with 24.8% of children ages 10-17 having a BMI 85% or greater according to the National Survey of Children’s Health from 2022. To treat childhood obesity from a comprehensive perspective, a prescription program, “5210 Rx”, and the subsequent development of Fresh Connect, a produce prescription program, have been implemented. The objective of this study is to evaluate the treatment of pediatric obesity with prescription programs and intervention as well as addressing food insecurity.

Methods: This study is a retrospective chart review of pediatric patients ages 2-18 who are participants (BMI >85%ile for age and sex) in both the 5210 Rx and Fresh Connect Programs at HealthyKids, a multi-disciplinary Intensive Health Behavior and Lifestyle Treatment (IHBLT) practice. Included will be children enrolled from January 2023 – June 2023. Data analyzed includes BMI, BMI %95, and utilization of Fresh Connect funds. All data was compared from initial values to values obtained after initial 6-month enrollment period. Statistical analysis was the paired T-test to compare pre and post BMI changes.

Results: Of the 43 children enrolled in the 5210 Rx program during the 6-month period, mean age of participants was 11.9 ± 3.9 years, and 58% were female. Additionally, 38 of 43 participants (88%) utilized Fresh Connect produce debit card for more than 1 month. These participants had a net spend of $12,919.21 across 800 shopping transactions. Averaging 19 shopping trips, families had an average transaction of $17.36. Of the participants with BMI measurements available at the beginning and end of program, there was a 5.14-point change in the BMI %95 (144% to 139% BMI%95), a statistically significant difference (p=0.018). Future analyses will examine the associations of practice type (IHBLT vs. primary care), food insecurity screening results, comorbid diagnoses, metabolic lab values (CBC, CMP, FLP, HbgA1c), and active medications on BMI %95 changes.

Conclusion: Preliminary results suggest the benefit of a produce prescription program in conjunction with intensive obesity treatment for reducing BMI. We suggest clinical-community interventions with a produce component could serve as effective treatments of childhood obesity while decreasing food insecurity.