Our comprehensive review and meta- analysis of these experiments find suggestive evidence of health benefits associated with investments in early life , income support , and health insurance interventions .
Housing and neighborhood trials had no effect on the outcomes included in the meta-analyses .
A positive effect of the trial on its primary socioeconomic outcome was associated with higher odds of reporting health improvements .
Early life , income , and health insurance interventions have the potential to improve health .
Policy Points Social policies might not only improve economic well-being , but also health .
Health policy experts have therefore advocated for investments in social policies both to improve population health and potentially reduce health system costs .
Since the 1960s , a large number of social policies have been experimentally evaluated in the United States .
Some of these experiments include health outcomes , providing a unique opportunity to inform evidence -based policymaking .
CONTEXT Insurers and health care providers are investing heavily in nonmedical social interventions in an effort to improve health and potentially reduce health care costs .
Neighborhoods, obesity, and diabetes--a randomized social experiment.
BACKGROUND The question of whether neighborhood environment contributes directly to the development of obesity and diabetes remains unresolved . The study reported on here uses data from a social experiment to assess the association of r and omly assigned variation in neighborhood conditions with  obesity and diabetes . METHODS From 1994 through 1998 , the Department of Housing and Urban Development ( HUD ) r and omly assigned 4498 women with children living in public housing in high-poverty urban census tracts ( in which ≥40 % of residents had incomes below the federal poverty threshold ) to one of three groups : 1788 were assigned to receive housing vouchers  , which were redeemable only if they moved to a low-poverty census tract ( where < 10 % of residents were poor ) , and counseling on moving ; 1312 were assigned to receive unrestricted , traditional vouchers , with no special counseling on moving ;  and 1398 were assigned to a control group that was offered neither of these opportunities . From 2008 through 2010 , as part of a long-term follow-up survey , we measured data indicating health outcomes , including height , weight , and level of glycated hemoglobin ( HbA(1c ) ) . RESULTS As part of our long-term survey , we obtained data on body-mass index ( BMI , the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters ) for 84.2 % of participants and data on glycated hemoglobin level for 71.3 % of participants . Response rates were similar across r and omized groups . The prevalences of a BMI of 35 or more , a BMI of 40 or more , and a glycated hemoglobin level of 6.5 % or more were lower in the group receiving the low-poverty vouchers than in the control group , with an absolute difference of 4.61 percentage points ( 95 % confidence interval [ CI ] , -8.54 to -0.69 ) , 3.38 percentage points ( 95 % CI , -6.39 to -0.36 ) , and 4.31 percentage points ( 95 % CI , -7.82 to -0.80 ) , respectively . The differences between the group receiving traditional vouchers and the control group were not significant . CONCLUSIONS The opportunity to move from a neighborhood with a high level of poverty to one with a lower level of poverty was associated with modest but potentially important reductions in the prevalence of extreme obesity and diabetes . The mechanisms underlying these associations remain unclear but warrant further investigation , given their potential to guide the design of community-level interventions intended to improve health . ( Funded by HUD and others . )
Our comprehensive review and meta- analysis of these experiments find suggestive evidence of health benefits associated with investments in early life , income support , and health insurance interventions .
Housing and neighborhood trials had no effect on the outcomes included in the meta-analyses .
A positive effect of the trial on its primary socioeconomic outcome was associated with higher odds of reporting health improvements .
Early life , income , and health insurance interventions have the potential to improve health .
Policy Points Social policies might not only improve economic well-being , but also health .
Health policy experts have therefore advocated for investments in social policies both to improve population health and potentially reduce health system costs .
Since the 1960s , a large number of social policies have been experimentally evaluated in the United States .
Some of these experiments include health outcomes , providing a unique opportunity to inform evidence -based policymaking .
CONTEXT Insurers and health care providers are investing heavily in nonmedical social interventions in an effort to improve health and potentially reduce health care costs .