Chronic Disease Prevention Remained Abstract for Too Long - Barbara Mkhitarian Made It Measurable

"Non-communicable diseases account for roughly 1.8 million preventable deaths annually in Europe alone and cost the economy over $500 billion each year, with the majority of cases linked to modifiable lifestyle factors - diet, physical activity, and persistent behavioural patterns. In other words, a significant portion of healthcare spending goes not toward inevitable illnesses but toward consequences that could have been delayed, reduced, or entirely prevented."

"Prevention is less and less seen as a set of general recommendations or informational campaigns and increasingly as a structured, evidence-based process requiring specialised expertise. This is how a new class of professionals emerges at the intersection of public health, nutrition, psychology, and digital solutions - specialists who work not on treating disease but on changing the behaviours that cause it."

Non-communicable diseases cause 1.8 million preventable deaths annually in Europe and cost over $500 billion yearly, with most cases linked to modifiable lifestyle factors. Modern healthcare systems increasingly recognize prevention as a structured, evidence-based process requiring specialized expertise rather than general recommendations. A new class of professionals operates at the intersection of public health, nutrition, psychology, and digital solutions to change behaviors causing disease. Prevention programs now integrate digital platforms with behavioral psychology principles to deliver measurable outcomes. Specialists with backgrounds in public health, nutrition science, and global health work within governmental and digital initiatives to implement prevention strategies focused on diabetes prevention, weight management, and sustainable behavioral change.

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