Transforming businesses to reduce chronic non-communicable diseases through physical activity and mental health: A systematic literature review

Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases NCDs are currently one of the greatest challenges facing health systems. The causes of these diseases, such as a sedentary lifestyle, alcohol consumption, smoking, and a history of high blood pressure in immediate family members, are major causes of death. They are, in general, preventable. Some forms of prevention are, for example, the reduction or elimination of tobacco and alcohol consumption, the consumption of healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, and the reduction of the consumption of processed and ultra-processed foods, which, are the most sold due to many factors, such as their flavor, the speed of their preparation and their durability after purchase. Some of the preventable causes of these diseases are physical inactivity, either due to the type of work or a sedentary lifestyle, excessive use of video games, prolonged use of screens, the use of motorized transport, and environmental pollution, which not only affects humans through pollution but also, to a lesser extent, through contamination in the kitchen of homes. Taking the above into account, it is essential to analyze the actions of public or private health companies that seek to reduce the appearance of NCDs, since medical treatments for these diseases are expensive and can leave disabling sequelae.