A total of 71 percent ( or 41 million) deaths worldwide were attributed to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) like cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.

In the Philippines, NCDs are responsible for 68 percent of deaths and the probability of dying for those ages 30 and 70, cited by a study published by the Philippine Science Journal in April 2021.

This is because a significant proportion of Filipino adults are exposed to the risk factors for NCDs, particularly an unhealthy diet, composed mainly of refined grains.

An unhealthy diet is associated with metabolic changes that increase the risk of NCDs such as overweight/obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and dyslipidemia. These are the metabolic risk factors for NCDs.

According to the Expanded National Nutrition Survey, three out of 10 Filipinos are overweight or obese and the trend is increasing, from 31.1 percent in 2015 to 37.2 percent in 2018. Overweight and obese adults have high body fat, which is associated with high blood sugar, dyslipidemia, and high BP.

However, obesity and its related metabolic risk factors of NCDs are largely preventable through a healthy diet for instance. This is the case with rice, the most important staple to more than half of the world's population, especially in Asian countries.

Eating whole grains like brown rice (BR) is a good way to address obesity and its related metabolic risk factors of NCDs but with white rice (WR) deeply embedded in many cultures around the world, including the Philippines, this is quite challenging.

BR has important nutrients present in the bran and germ, which are removed when it undergoes polishing to reveal the white grains. BR is an excellent source of minerals such as iron, zinc, manganese, selenium, and magnesium and contains substantial amounts of vitamins (E and B complex), dietary fiber, unsaturated fats, protein, γ-aminobutyric acid, and other phytochemicals. These minerals, vitamins, and phytonutrients can protect against NCDs.

Scientists from the Philippine Rice Research Institute attest that BR is beneficial to one's health as it contains a lot of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.