Emphasizing the connection between diet, obesity and cardiovascular disease through health screenings at the East New York Food Co-op

A new health screening program, located within a community-owned grocery store, promotes cardiovascular disease prevention and education in East New York (ENY), Brooklyn. In ENY, a neighborhood where 50% of residents are Black and 39% are Hispanic, 53% percent report not exercising and 25% do not eat any fruits or vegetables. Given that one-third of ENY adults are obese, 35% have hypertension and 13% have diabetes, there is a need in this community for more accessible health promotion programming centered around diet-related diseases. In partnership with the Local Development Corporation of East New York, physicians at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine have developed a screening protocol for modifiable cardiovascular risks: hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and hyperlipidemia. The ENY Food Co-op screenings are conducted weekly by a research assistant in both English and Spanish. Participants are given a copy of their results and information on how to improve each health measurement with exercise and foods offered at the co-op. In the first two months of the program, 44 individuals were screened: 42 were Black and/or Latino, 24 were female, and 5 screenings were in Spanish. The program is designed to be sustainable, as ENY Food Co-op members will be trained to perform the screenings. The accessibility, long-term sustainability, and educational tie-ins of the screening program make it an innovative health promotion service.