Double malnutrition in Philippines increases

The country is facing a “double burden” of malnutrition as the number of underweight and overweight adults has significantly increased over the past 10 years.

Dr. Irma Asuncion, director of the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control of the Department of Health (DOH), said that “underweight, wasting and stunting growth” is still a major public health concern in the country.

“This double burden of malnutrition needs to be addressed,” Asuncion noted during the kickoff celebration of the National Nutrition Council (NNC) for this year’s Nutrition Month in Quezon City.

NNC executive director Maria Bernardita Flores said that being underweight is not only the problem as three out of 10 Filipinos are obese based on research of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI).

Data from the FNRI survey, on malnutrition among Filipino adults show that from 1993 to 2003 12.3 percent of adults are undernourished while 24 percent are overweight and obese.

The study noted that female adults are more obese than males.

Flores said the NNC would strengthen its “Pinggang Pinoy,” which is the country’s version of America’s “My Plate.”

“It is a tool similar to the movement in the US, the ‘My Plate’ of First Lady Michelle Obama… many misunderstand the food pyramid, saying that the best food to eat are those at the top, which is wrong, because those at the top are the least that we should eat,” Flores said.

Pinggang Pinoy is a new and easy-to-understand food guide that uses familiar food plate models so that the public will know the right food group proportions on a per-meal basis that will meet their energy and nutrient needs.