The 15-day Jumpstart was developed as an evidence-based, affordable, standardized, replicable, and scalable program, designed to demonstrate quickly to patients that changing what they eat can improve their health. The program was designed using the principles of the self-determination theory of motivation and personality. Patients were instructed to eat an Esselstyn-compliant, whole-food plant-based diet consisting of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes. Of the 389 participants in the program from September 2018 to February 2020, average weight loss was 5.8 pounds (7.3 for those whose body mass index was >30), average systolic blood pressure drop was 6.8 points (16.8 points for those with systolic blood pressure >140), average drop in cholesterol was 26 points (44 points for those with a cholesterol >200), average drop in low-density lipoprotein was 19 points (33 points for those with a low-density lipoprotein >100), and average drop in fasting blood sugar was 5.1 points (28.4 points for those starting in the diabetic range); P value was <.005 for fasting blood sugar and <.001 for all other comparisons. A 15-day program that helps patients adopt an Esselstyn-style whole-food plant-based diet, through education, individualized medical feedback, social support, and facilitated small group work, rapidly improves health.
Patients with chronic conditions are at higher risk of complications and mortality if they get COVID-19. Approximately half of American adults have at least 1 condition that increases their risk of complications if they become infected. The medical and public health communities need to send a clear message about the impact of lifestyle on health, particularly in the time of this pandemic. We need to communicate with patients and the public, to let them know how rapidly major lifestyle changes can improve health. This communication is urgent; the timeline for self-care and lifestyle medicine interventions has been telescoped, so that chronic diseases are now acute risk factors.
Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) patients are at high risk of developing chronic illness, and when they do, are at higher risk of poor outcomes than in a hearing community. Rochester Lifestyle Medicine Institute adapted its online, Zoom-based, medically-facilitated 15 Day Whole-Food Plant-Based (WFPB) Jumpstart program, to give DHH participants knowledge, skills, and support to make dietary changes to improve their health. Adaptations included having a medical provider present who is fluent in American Sign Language (ASL), is board-certified in Lifestyle Medicine, and has a Master of Science in Deaf Education; spotlighting participants when asking a question during the Q&A session; using ASL interpreters; utilizing closed captioning/automatic transcription during all Zoom meetings; and employing a Success Specialist to provide outreach via text and email throughout the program. Participants had significant positive changes in their eating pattern. They reported improvements in biometric measures as well as in how they were feeling. They all reported that they planned to continue to eat a more WFPB diet than they did prior to Jumpstart. All either agreed or strongly agreed that they learned important information, were confident that they knew the best eating pattern for health, and gained the skills they needed to make changes. Although this was a small pilot program, it suggests that this model can be used to provide education and support for behavior change that will lead to improved health in a DHH community.
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