用更健康的盘子和银行帐户散开磅

While vegetables and credit scores may occupy vastly different spaces in life, a new partnership brings them together to address obesity and diabetes in low-income Houston communities.

“我们知道，财务压力会大大增加肥胖症等慢性病的风险，因为当您的预算有限时，您更有可能吃不健康的食物并具有饮食方式无序，” Shreela V. Sharma，博士学位休斯顿公共卫生学院流行病学，人类遗传学和环境科学系。“我们认为，提高人的财务素养和授权将消除一些压力，从而使基于生活方式的干预措施更加可行和有效。”

2012年，夏尔马共同创立了Brighter Bites, a school-based program that distributes fresh produce to low-income families while also providing nutritional education and fun food experiences such as recipe tastings. Research from UTHealth Houston showed the program increased the intake of fruits and vegetables, reduced added sugar consumption, and improved the home environment, but Sharma felt Brighter Bites could go further.

In concert with the UTHealth HoustonMany Faces. One Mission.campaign and its focus on improving Houston’s health, Sharma and the School of Public Health approached Bank of America Charitable Foundation to fund a unique vision that would bring together for the first-time a collaboration between Brighter Bites, national credit counseling service Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners (NTFP), and additional academic experts at The City University of New York School of Public Health and University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

The project will recruit 100 families from Brighter Bites with parents at risk of diabetes. Brighter Bites will offer its traditional services enhanced with the mobile application Noom, which uses a cognitive behavioral therapy approach to support weight loss. At the same time, NTFP—known for helping clients reduce debt—will provide one-on-one financial coaching.

This approach aims to directly impact the Greater Houston community while evaluating how a combination of financial coaching and lifestyle interventions can improve metabolic outcomes for diabetes prevention when delivered simultaneously.

“The concept behind the program really intrigued us,” says Patti Abshire, Senior Vice President at Bank of America. “I had heard about how financial literacy and health intersect, but we never saw anyone actually doing anything about it. This program seemed like an excellent idea and a natural fit for us.”

Bank of America agreed not only to fund the project but to also introduce participants to its own financial education initiative, Better Money Habits. Comprising approximately 100 free online videos in English and Spanish, Better Money Habits helps viewers better understand topics including credit, saving and investing, and homeownership.

“We want to make sure our community has access to good financial education,” Patti says. “One of my favorite videos shows how to save on everyday expenses. For example, if instead of going to Starbucks every day you make your own coffee at home, you save $20 a week. For a family on a very tight budget, that can prove significant.”

While Bank of America does not usually fund pilot initiatives, the School of Public Health program presented a unique opportunity: Since it will support mostly minority families, it fits with the bank’s recent pledge to commit $1.25 billion to advance racial and ethnic equality and create economic opportunity.

“The major factor when we consider a grant is how it will make an impact,” Patti says. “In this case, we believe strongly that it will not only help address the country’s obesity epidemic, but do so in a way that promotes equity.”

该计划将在评估结果之前为家庭提供12个月的支持，而Sharma表示，如果成功的话，可以将其扩展到整个德克萨斯州和美国的一群更广泛的家庭。

她说：“这是一个影响各地人民的问题。”“我们已经看到了更明亮的叮咬的事实效果，我们相信，尤其是当通货膨胀继续强调低收入家庭的财务状况时，这种独特的合作可以帮助他们体验更健康，更经济上的维护生活。”