title: Can noncommunicable diseases be prevented? Lessons from studies of populations and individuals.
abstract: Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs)--mainly cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases--are responsible for about two-thirds of deaths worldwide, mostly in low- and middle-income countries. There is an urgent need for policies and strategies that prevent NCDs by reducing their major risk factors. Effective approaches for large-scale NCD prevention include comprehensive tobacco and alcohol control through taxes and regulation of sales and advertising; reducing dietary salt, unhealthy fats, and sugars through regulation and well-designed public education; increasing the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy fats, and whole grains by lowering prices and improving availability; and implementing a universal, effective, and equitable primary-care system that reduces NCD risk factors, including cardiometabolic risk factors and infections that are precursors to NCDs, through clinical interventions.
authors.affiliation: MRC-HPA, Centre for Environment and Health and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London W2 1PG, UK. majid.ezzati@imperial.ac.uk
authors.forename: Majid
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ezzati
authors.forename: Elio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Riboli
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004032:Diet; D006266:Health Education; D006291:Health Policy; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012307:Risk Factors; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012907:Smoking