Aayush Visaria

Dr. Aayush Visaria is a primary care physician and clinician-scientist dedicated to improving cardio-metabolic disease risk stratification. He earned his MPH in Biostatistics from the Rutgers School of Public Health in 2017, followed by his MD from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in 2021. He received additional research training as a postdoctoral fellow at the Rutgers Institute for Health under the mentorship of Dr. Soko Setoguchi, where he published several studies examining BMI-outcome associations and racial/ethnic disparities in cardio-metabolic diseases. 

Dr. Visaria completed his internal medicine residency at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, graduating with a Distinction in Research. He currently serves as an RBHS Instructor of Medicine at Rutgers RWJMS and Center for Climate, Health, and Healthcare at Rutgers IFH. His current research focuses on improving visceral adiposity estimation in the primary care setting to better identify adults at elevated cardiovascular risk, particularly those from ethnic groups with a high burden of cardiovascular disease and those with normal BMI. His work has been published in Diabetes Care, Journal of Hypertension, American Journal of Cardiology, among others, and has been featured on several news outlets including CNN, NBC, and WebMD. 

Outside of his clinical and research work, Dr. Visaria leads the American Preventive Screening and Education Association (APSEA), a nonprofit organization committed to reducing the burden of hypertension and diabetes through community-based screenings and preventive lifestyle education. He also directs the lifestyle medicine curriculum for internal medicine residents at RWJMS. In his free time, he enjoys playing pickleball. 

Study Description: 

South Asian adults face a high burden of cardiometabolic diseases, which are associated with certain dietary intake patterns. Food is Medicine (FIM) approaches integrate the food and nutrition interventions with healthcare and can improve diet and health-related outcomes, but they are not typically tailored to the participants’ cultural characteristics that are important for the sustainability of behavioral changes. Our study aims to implement a culturally adapted FIM program for South Asian adults with cardiometabolic diseases. This mixed-methods study examines 1) the cultural preferences, perceived barriers and facilitators to participate in FIM programs, and 2) the feasibility and acceptability of a culturally tailored FIM program among South Asian adults with cardiometabolic diseases. The formative phase of this study involves semi-.    structured interviews with South Asian adults. The quasi-experimental, 4-arm FIM intervention phase includes medically tailored meals, culturally tailored groceries, and teaching kitchen educational sessions for South Asian adults and their families. Baseline, endline (at 1- or 2-month), and 3-month follow-up assessments include cultural, demographic, and psychosocial characteristics, dietary intake, physical activity, anthropometric and biometric (blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol) measures as well as follow-up interviews with a focus on feasibility and acceptability of the program