Cardiovascular Disease and Diet

Laura Adame

California State University Channel Islands

Health 300; Nutrition Exercise Wellness

Professor Gutierrez

April 03, 2022

 People's eating habits have shifted dramatically over the world, and the speed of change

in LMICs is accelerating. Snacking and snack items have increased in number and frequency;

eating frequency has increased; and dining out from home in restaurants, fast food, and take-out

meals has expanded considerably in low-income communities. The article that I will be

reviewing is titied, “Food Consumption and its impact on Cardiovascular Disease: Importance of

Solutions focused on the globalized food system” Cardiovascular disease is when plaque builds

up in the walls of the heart's arteries, which leads to cardiovascular disease. This buildup of

plaque narrows the arteries, making it more difficult for blood to flow through them. Blood clots

can form as artery walls get constricted, stopping blood flow completely and leading to a heart

attack or stroke. According to the world health organization fact sheet There are an estimated

over 500 million obese and close to 2 billion overweight or obese individuals worldwide. This is

due to refined grains and added sugars, salt and poor-quality diets, whereas whole grains, fruits,

vegetables, legumes, fish, and nuts are scarce.

Man made processed foods have become a norm in society today especially packaged

and ready to eat foods, but this was not always the case. During the 1960’s the "Green

Revolution," movement came to light which concentrated on improving corn, rice, and wheat

productivity, in low middle income countries. According to the peer reviewed article “In

addition to vastly increasing the calorie supply, the ensuing productivity boom also provided the

basis of cheap feed for livestock and cheap inputs for processed foods, in turn creating incentives

for the growth of manufacturers of processed foods”. This was the start of processed foods which

increased the consumption of cheap, processed fast foods. Throughout the article it was

emphasized that this chronic health problem was mostly seen in low income communities, since
processed foods are what seem to be the most affordable for low income communities, especially

bigger families.

Throughout the article it was pointed out that overall the food system is what really

influences people on their day to day food choices. Something that that article pointed out was

that food systems would be more motivated to create better foods if more individuals made

healthier choices. At the same time, a better food supply allows people to make better decisions.

Based on their opinion, developing food systems that underlie healthier dietary patterns entails

improving the food supply by producing more heart-healthy foods and fewer items linked to

cardiovascular disease. This is not something that I entirely agree with, when stated that food

systems would be more motivated to create better foods if more individuals made healthier

choices. I believe that human beings would overall be a lot healthier if they had access to

healthier and affordable foods, like mentioned before it would make a remarkable difference.

Something that was pointed out in the article was, “Producing more poultry, for example, may be

seen as a way to enhance the quality of the food supply since it is healthier relative to red meat,

but much chicken is transformed into fast food and other calorie-rich, ultra-processed, heavily-

advertised presentations” I believe that overall it goes beyond simply growing and raising these

foods to ensuring that they reach people everywhere in a healthy form that is accessible and

acceptable, including low-income groups. I think healthy eating becomes even more difficult

now a days due to the multiple and complex transformations in ingredients and foods between

farm and fork according to the article, “Producing more poultry, for example, may be seen as a

way to enhance the quality of the food supply since it is healthier relative to red meat, but much

chicken is transformed into fast food and other calorie-rich, ultra-processed, heavily-advertised
presentations” With this being stated i believe that food being ultra-processed and where healthy

food is converted to unhealthy food is where the problem is seen primarily.

After educating myself with this article I believe that in order for there to be change in

healthy eating and avoiding chronic diseases like cardiovascular diseases, educating people as

whole, advertisements on the importance of nurturing your body with whole foods that aren't

processed would help bring awareness to the topic as well as educated those who did not grow

up in an environment where healthy eating was seen as important. As well as showing how

healthy eating is more than just to maintain a healthy weight but it is to live a longer life and pass

this education to future generations. This article has very good points and I think it would be

beneficial for people to read and have an understanding of processed foods and the harm it

creates for someone's overall health.

ARTICLE (click here)

 WORKS CITED:

Anand, S. S., Hawkes, C., de Souza, R. J., Mente, A., Dehghan, M., Nugent, R., Zulyniak, M. A.,

Weis, T., Bernstein, A. M., Krauss, R. M., Kromhout, D., Jenkins, D. J. A., Malik, V., Martinez-

Gonzalez, M. A., Mozaffarian, D., Yusuf, S., Willett, W. C., & Popkin, B. M. (2022, March 29).

Food consumption and its impact on cardiovascular disease: Importance of solutions

focused on the globalized food system: A report from the workshop convened by the World Heart

Federation. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Retrieved March 29, 2022, from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4597475/