Prevention of Non-communicable Diseases by Balanced Nutrition: Population- specific Effective Public Health Approaches in Developing Countries

Introduction: Currently, the developing countries are afflicted with the dual burden of disease - non-communicable diseases (NCDs) becoming a major public health challenge. It is projected that in near future, NCDs will account for nearly 70% of the mortality in developing world. Caused due to lifestyle related factors, there is an upsurge in the incidence of overweight/obesity, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes mellitus, cancers, respiratory diseases and mental illnesses. Appropriate dietary practices, increased physical activity, weight management, abstinence from tobacco/substance use and alcohol abuse play an important role in their prevention and management. This narrative review highlights the role of various dietary components - both nutrient and non-nutrient, in the prevention and risk reduction of NCDs. Method: It is a comprehensive overview of various experimental researches, observational studies, clinical trials, epidemiological studies, pooled/meta-analyses and reviews carried out globally, particularly the developing nations. Studies were retrieved by an extensive search of the online PubMed/Medline, SciVerse Scopus databases using individual/combination of several keywords like non-communicable diseases, energy, various nutrients, sugar sweetened beverages, functional foods, tea, coffee, spices/condiments/herbs, animal foods, nuts and oil seeds, physical activity, dietary practices, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, T2DM, respiratory diseases, lifestyle modifications, tobacco, smoking, alcohol and public health approaches. The review also highlights several preventive approaches for curbing NCDs in the developing world with special emphasis on dietary factors. Conclusion: Since the occurrence of NCDs is marked by a cumulative effect of various risk factors, urgent collective actions are needed to avert/prevent the same effectively.