Table 1.

PEO framework for determining the eligibility of the research question.

Criteria	Determinant
Population	Human participants of all-age groups residing in sub-Saharan Africa, both genders, and regardless of their ethnic background
Exposure	Food Insecurity (FI)* (Independent Variable) experienced at either household or individual level
Outcomes	Diagnosed with any of the following key metabolic risk factors for diet-sensitive NCDs per the international diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndromes (MetS) such as NCEP-ATPIII (2001), International Diabetes Foundation (IDF 2005), AHA/NHLBI criteria (2004), and any other measures in line with the World Health Organization criteria (1998). Outcomes of interest are:  1. Obesity  2. Dyslipidaemia  3. Hypertension  4. Underweight  5. Overweight  6. Others (as reported per study)

*Detailed list of essential tools used to define/ or ascertain food insecurity as an independent variable, accompanying theoretical minimum risk exposure level see Supplementary Appendix No. 1 Table 1.

Definition of review outcomes reported assessment beyond general health self-report and the diagnostic criteria for identifying metabolic risk factors for this study see Supplementary Appendix No. 1 Table 2.