Pre-packaged Food: A Universal Appraisal Regarding Cardiometabolic Syndrome Health Implication

Fast food is a synonym of the Western pattern diet, often known as the standard American diet.[1] It is also considered modernised urban-style unhealthy food, mainly containing high amounts of processed, ultra-processed and pre-packaged foods.[2,3] These foods usually contain refined or ultra-refined grains, high-fructose-containing products, sugar-sweetened beverages and drinks, high sugarcoated chocolates, confectionaries containing refined grains and high amounts of sugar, deep-fried foods, red meat, processed meat, farm fattening animal meat, high-fat dairy products and high in fat and Na+, and conversely, they have low amounts of fresh vegetables and fruits.[1,4-6] Thereby, a Westernised diet often escalates the risk of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and predominantly promotes the development of diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, for example, coronary heart disease, stroke, essential hypertension and atherosclerosis, and chronic respiratory diseases, for example, bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), obesity, autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis, cancer and many more [Figure 1].[6-8]Figure 1: The various non-communicable diseases suffered by the world population. This figure has been drawn with the premium version of BioRender (https://biorender.com/Accessed on 28 January 2024) with license number RL26E5R4CY. Image credit: Rahnuma Ahmad.The term NCDs denotes a cluster of disease forms not essentially instigated by acute microbial infectivity, resulting in long-standing health penalties and regularly constructing a necessity for long-term therapeutic intervention plans and attention.[9] Cardiometabolic syndrome (CMS) embraces a bundle of health disorders such as obesity, especially central region, glucose metabolism altered because of insulin resistance, hyperlipidaemia and hypertension. These patients have been identified to have transformed from normal fatty acid metabolism, leading to unrestrained fatty acid liberation into plasma, possibly as a risk factor for developing these metabolic oddities.[10,11] The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that consumption of low-quality pre-packaged or ready-to-eat meals with poor nutrients (both micronutrients and macronutrients) containing frequently containing highly refined sugar, fat, and Na+ salt with a sedentary lifestyle (deskbound job) brings to light high blood pressure (hypertension), high level of blood glucose leading to diabetes mellitus, raised blood lipids, overweight and obesity.[9] These are termed metabolic risk aspects that eventually provide a route to NCDs and premature deaths.[12] It was also reported that the development of NCDs amongst individuals is strongly related to hereditary; biological and functional components of our bodily system; ecological, social and developmental issues; consumption of alcohol and tobacco; social separation or isolation and monetary difficulty.[13-15] Furthermore, speedy spur-of-the-moment non-agricultural metropolitans, internationalisation of detrimental ways of living and increased geriatric community are added risk factors for the development of NCDs [Figure 2].[16,17]Table 1 illustrates fast food consumption with CMS.Figure 2: The different risk factors that may lead to the development of non-communicable diseases. This figure has been drawn with the premium version of BioRender (https://biorender.com/Accessed on 28 January 2024) with license number ZB26EGIMP1. Image credit: Rahnuma Ahmad.Table 1: The association of fast food consumption with cardiometabolic syndrome index in PubMedThe WHO recommended strategies to combat NCDs required to "reduce the major modifiable risk factors, such as tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets and physical inactivity. Develop and implement effective legal frameworks. Orient health systems through people-centered health care and universal health coverage. Promote high-quality research and development."[26] Budreviciute et al., in 2020, revealed that the paramount deterrence strategy in managing NCDs must comprise lifestyle alteration towards health-promoting régime such as eating healthy and increasing physical activity, educational intervention regarding NCDs and its atrocities to build awareness amongst ordinary people, development of national and international health policy and strategy with focus action programmes, for example, multi-sectoral cooperation and collaboration amongst all health-related stakeholders regarding awareness, expertise, information dissemination and novelties. In addition, this research further emphasises the transformations in the way of living by considering modifying towards a healthy diet and avoiding junk food, increasing physical accomplishments, immediate discontinuation consumption of smoking and alcohol and the appropriate intervention to keep a tight rein on metabolic syndrome.[13] Kelishadi, in 2019, reported that the first and foremost prudent steps to be undertaken in controlling and managing NCDs are fostering good health, minimising modifiable risk factors and reinforcing national health systems to detect and manage NCDs' changeable risk aspects. This study further reported that the most cost-effective measures are cutting back the day-to-day malleable risk features that encompass principally unhealthy vicious life cycles, which are imperative for administrative policy, the primary concern of national health authority and subsiding the commonness of NCDs.[27] Shayo from Tanzania reported that the widespread lifestyle health-risk components for NCDs amongst school-going adolescents were considerably higher. Consequently, multiple approaches are required amongst all participants; public healthcare programmes are considered more operational than a single scheme. Accordingly, these low-cost strategies are appropriate for resource-limited low- and middle-income countries settings.[28] Gamage and Jayawardana, in 2017, reported that Sri Lankan school-going teenagers' (17–19 years) knowledge of NCDs and health-conscious active lifestyles was inadequate. Accordingly, effectuate, consistent and systematic surveillance for NCD risk elements remains a considerable barrier. Hence, this study recommended the urgent need to improve awareness amongst teenagers regarding wholesome lifestyles and NCDs.[29] Neyazi et al., in 2023, revealed that precise strategies are required to regulate and avert NCDs' primary risk dynamics, such as minimisation of tobacco and alcohol consumption, promoting healthy dietary practices, discouraging intake of fast foods through national media and appropriate systems and encouraging an increase physical activity. The principal NCDs, for example, heart diseases, cancers, diabetes and COPD, should be diagnosed and managed immediately.[30] Furthermore, this study also endorsed that transnational health agencies, for example, the WHO, United Nations Organizations, the World Bank and others involved with healthcare, should reinforce and establish good healthcare management in Afghanistan. Likewise, the Afghan healthcare authority should emphasise endorsing and financing health literateness programmes amongst ordinary people regarding personal care (self-management) to master and stave off NCDs.[30] The most common, well-recognised risk factors for CMS include age, sex, hereditary, essential hypertension, abnormalities in blood glucose levels, hyperlipidaemia and consumption of tobacco and alcohol.[31-34] Newly identified cardiovascular hazardous issues include central obesity, increased waist circumference, insulin resistance, chronic inflammation (usually calculated by high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hsCRP]), indicated by increased level hsCRP, sparse consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, desk-bound idle job and mental and emotional stress.[32,35-41] Stratagems to avert and deal with the CMS need to incorporate alteration of the way of life towards a healthy manner, strict restriction fast food, body weight management, reduction body mass index and pharmacological and surgical intervention.[42-47] For individuals with a high risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases, a national policy should be created to detect these cases the earliest, i.e. before any clinical complication, and suitable therapeutic intervention should be started immediately, an effectual pre-emptive approach.[48-50] There is also an insistent requisite for more initiatives at the community and public level (with political commitment) to inspire ordinary people to eschew junk or processed food and promote healthy diets that contain the least refined carbohydrates and health fat but comprise the plenty fresh vegetables and fruits with increase physical endeavour.[51-54] Consequently, healthy dietary practice will counteract cardiometabolic disorders. The WHO reported that a healthy dietary practice supports, safeguards, and prevents malnutrition and acts as a broad spectrum of preventive strategies for NCDs and other health disorders.[26] Nevertheless, the further manufacture of factory-made foods, with aggressive promotional activities and swift expansion of urban areas and communities, alters lifestyles and dietary patterns around the globe.[55-58] People around the world are now eating more industrialised foods with very high-calorie value, especially ultra-refined carbohydrates, fats, crystallised free sugars and salt/Na+, and a considerable proportion of individuals are not consuming ample quality fruits, vegetables and wholegrains meals.[5,26,59] Well-organised and productive public health strategies and stringent action programmes while violating public law will cut the production and eating of ultra-processed foods and safeguard the human community from CMS. In the meantime, the public and community should build awareness regarding industrialised food practices and their adverse impact on human health. Consent for publication The author reviewed and approved the final version and has agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work, including any accuracy or integrity issues. Data availability Information for this editorial is taken from freely available sources. Authorship contribution All authors contributed significantly to the work, whether in the conception, design, utilisation, collection, analysis and interpretation of data or all these areas. They also participated in the article's drafting, revision or critical review, gave their final approval for the version that would be published, decided on the journal to which the paper would be submitted and made the responsible decision to be held accountable for all aspects of the work.