Fresh Food and Fresh Moves: Enhancement of a Food is Medicine Program With Exercise to Optimize Diabetes Self-Management

Top Things to Know

This study demonstrates that pairing PRx with accessible, low-impact physical activity meaningfully improves confidence, mobility, and daily movement.

Practical program design choices can extend the reach and durability of FIM interventions.

Integrated FIM and Exericse is Medicine models may first improve daily functioning and well-being, laying the groundwork for longer-term clinical benefits.

Summary of Conclusion/Findings

This study evaluated an enhanced Food Is Medicine produce prescription program (Fresh Start PRx) that intentionally integrated structured physical activity support for rural, medically underserved adults with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes. Among 150 participants, adding group-based exercise demonstrations, resistance bands, and health coaching led to significant improvements in physical activity self-efficacy and frequency, with participants increasing activity by an average of 1.2 days per week. Qualitative findings showed strong real-world behavior change, including widespread adoption of chair-based and low-impact exercises at home, improved confidence, and reductions in pain that enabled sustained movement. Despite these behavioral gains, improvements in physical activity were not significantly associated with changes in diabetes self-management self-efficacy or HbA1c, likely due to study design limitations and incomplete clinical data. Participant satisfaction with the integrated model was extremely high, with nearly all reporting learning new physical activity skills and trying new exercises. Overall, the findings suggest that while integrated movement support enhances functional and experiential outcomes, additional strategies may be needed to translate these gains into measurable metabolic improvements.