Introduction
Chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCDs) are currently
viewed as a silent global epidemic. Epidemiologic transition
from infectious to chronic diseases, as well as the
aging of the population in developing countries is exacerbating
the burden of CNCDs in low- and middle-income countries.1 Between
2006 and 2015, it is estimated that 84 billion US dollars in
economic production will be lost because of heart disease, stroke,
and diabetes in 23 developing countries. Such diseases account
for 80% of the total burden of chronic disease mortality in these
countries. Prevention and control of CNCDs would avert 24 million
deaths in low- and middle-income countries over the next
decades.2 Despite the burden of CNCDs, comprehensive national
and global responses are either lacking or too slow in the majority
of developing countries.
Numerous community-based trials have been undertaken in the
industrialized world, and several countries including Finland have
successfully reversed high-fat, energy-dense diets in their populations,
resulting in signi