HEALTHY LIFESTYLE AND DISEASE PREVENTION: EVIDENCE-BASED STRATEGIES AND THE UZBEKISTAN CONTEXT

Annotatsiya

Abstract. Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) – cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes – are the leading cause of death worldwide, and most of them are linked to a small group of modifiable behavioural risk factors. This article reviews the evidence on the contribution of a healthy lifestyle to disease prevention, drawing on World Health Organization (WHO) fact sheets and guidelines, peer-reviewed literature and official Uzbek legislative and policy documents. Global data show that NCDs caused at least 43 million deaths in 2021, including 18 million deaths before the age of 70. Around 31% of adults were insufficiently physically active in 2022; tobacco kills more than 7 million people every year; alcohol was responsible for an estimated 2.6 million deaths in 2019; and about 1.4 billion adults live with hypertension, of whom fewer than one in four have the condition under control. The core elements of primary prevention are balanced nutrition (at least 400 g of fruit and vegetables and less than 5 g of salt per day, and less than 10% of energy from free sugars), regular physical activity (150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week for adults), abstinence from tobacco, avoidance of harmful alcohol use, maintenance of a healthy body weight, and early detection through screening. The article also summarises the Uzbek legal framework, including the 1996 Law on the Protection of Citizens' Health and presidential decrees and resolutions adopted in 2018–2020, and outlines practical implications for primary care and medical education.