NUTRITIONAL LIFESTYLE INTERVENTIONS FOR NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASE PREVENTION IN UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE SYSTEMS: A NARRATIVE REVIEW

Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) account for 75% of global deaths, with 82% of premature NCD mortality occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Poor diet is among the leading modifiable risk factors, yet nutritional interventions remain underintegrated into primary health care.The Food Is Medicine (FIM) movement has gained momentum primarily in the United States, but its applicability to universal health coverage (UHC) systems in LMICs has not been examined. Methods: We conducted a narrative review following SANRA guidelines, searching PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for literature published between 2015 and 2026. We synthesized evidence on nutritional lifestyle interventions-including FIM programs, dietary counseling, culinary medicine, and digital nutrition tools-and analyzed their integration potential within UHC-based primary care systems, with emphasis on LMIC contexts.