Abstract
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region suffers a drastic change from a traditional diet to an industrialized diet. This has led to an unparalleled increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases. This review discusses the role of nutritional genomics, or the dietary signature, in these dietary and disease changes in the MENA. The diet-genetics-disease relation is discussed in detail. Selected disease categories in the MENA are discussed starting with a review of their epidemiology in the different MENA countries, followed by an examination of the known genetic factors that have been reported in the disease discussed, whether inside or outside the MENA. Several diet-genetics-disease relationships in the MENA may be contributing to the increased prevalence of civilization disorders of metabolism and micronutrient deficiencies. Future research in the field of nutritional genomics in the MENA is needed to better define these relationships.
Highlights
Over the past few decades, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has been witnessing significant changes in food habits paralleled by an important preponderance of metabolite-related diseases
The MENA has been losing its traditional diet which was distinguished by its diversity and richness in raw foods, proteins, and multivitamins, in the favor of a more industrial diet which consists of increased preprocessed foods, sugars, fats, alcohol, animal products, saturated- and trans-fatty acids, and relatively less vitamins and minerals with decreased consumption of milk, fruits, and vegetables [4]
Due to this grave impact on chronic diseases, diet became a target of public health initiatives that aim at restoring the traditional diet of MENA countries in order to improve health conditions in their populations [6,7,8]
Summary
Over the past few decades, the MENA has been witnessing significant changes in food habits paralleled by an important preponderance of metabolite-related diseases. Minimum physical activity, religious habits, consumer ignorance, high population growth rates, economic factors, and lack of both protection laws and food fortification programs are other critical factors that influence the nutritional status in the region [5]. These changes in dietary and lifestyle patterns contribute to an increase in the rates of micronutrients deficiencies, diet-related chronic diseases, and obesity in all groups of the population in the region [5]. The epidemiology of diet-related diseases in the MENA region and background information on the diet-genetics-disease interaction, followed by nutrigenomic examples on dietrelated diseases in the MENA region, will be discussed for the first time in this paper
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