History of the Program

Med-South is the culmination of a number of lifestyle interventions developed and tested by researchers at the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (HPDP). It has been widely tested in a variety of clinical and community settings in NC for over two decades and adopted by many state and local health departments and cardiac rehab programs across the country. Researchers continue to update the program in accordance with the scientific literature on healthy eating, physical activity, and health outcomes.

The following projects completed by researchers at HPDP used a similar dietary pattern as that used in the Med-South:

Weight-Wise was designed for midlife women with low-income enrolled in the WISEWOMAN program and was developed to test the effectiveness of weight control intervention strategies. Weight-Wise was implemented through community partnerships and included a 16-week weight loss phase of weekly group sessions and a 12-month weight maintenance phase of individual, group, and phone contacts.

The PArtners in Lifestyle Support (PALS) project was designed for African American adults with overweight/obesity and type 2 diabetes and included an evaluation of a randomized controlled trial. PALS included a 20-week family based diabetes self-management intervention that paired an adult with type 2 diabetes with a family member who does not have diabetes; together the pair works toward weight loss and a healthier lifestyle.