Are non-communicable diseases prevalent among public elementary pupils in Baguio City?

THE question calls for a research based answer. Non-communicable diseases are those types of illnesses classified as non-transferable to another person in any manner, whether by mere physical contact or from an outside factor such as the environment or the activities of a distinct individual. Usually these forms of diseases are derived as a result of food consumption, lack or overflowing physical activity. Some of these ailments are: fatigues, nausea, headaches and body aches, anxiety and sleep fullness in the classroom. These ailments will soon develop into complications as the learners grow up like: high blood pressure, heart and artery diseases and other forms of muscular and skeletal disorder.

When it comes to food consumption, the World Health Organization (WHO) (2010) and Hancock et al. (2011) classified some of the foods worldwide as traditional, processed and ultra-processed foods. And that from these, there are factors cited that brought out the consumption of these types of foods. Among these factors is the affordability, economic development, training at home and advertisement. Advertisement in the social media, television, radio and even peer influence accounts for the highest percentage of influence. When it comes to the question of how these foods have influence the eating habits of today’s generations needs a research basis.

But before researches have to be done, noteworthy are some programs conducted by the Department of Education (DepEd) that has been in existence twenty years ago or more but it has been called in different names. However it still points to the same objective, that is, how to improve the nutritional value of foods consumed by every learner. Feeding program remains to be the best and easy way to combat non-communicable diseases. In a study conducted by Ignacio (2018) on “Behavioral Risk Factors for NCDs among School Children in the National Capital Region (NCR),” it found out that hotdog, burgers and potato chips as the main source of fatty and oily diets. The study further recommended strict implementation of the existing DepEd programs to improve learners eating habits, sustainable information campaign on the ill effects of eating ultra-processed foods and that every school concessionaires should find ways to integrate affordable yet nutritious foods in school canteens. These are the malunggay (moringa) in breads, green peace and fresh corns instead of chips, affordable lugaw (porridge) and the traditional hot cakes mix with camote (sweet potato). With these, learners will value the importance of traditional foods which contributes to their well-being while inside the classroom.

In Baguio City, there is a need to conduct a continuous descriptive study to determine the correlation of food consumption and physical activity to the performance of the learner. What are the factors that contribute or lessen the prevalence of non-communicable diseases among learners are questions which need to be answered.