NNC: More Pinoy children overweight, obese
The National Nutrition Council (NNC) has expressed alarm over the emerging problem of overweight and obese children, saying this will result in a generation of unhealthy Filipinos.
NNC nutrition officer Marilou Enteria said that an unhealthy diet and a sedentary lifestyle are causing many children to become overweight and obese. “Malnutrition, especially stunting and wasting or pagkapayat, is still a problem in the Philippines. But what is emerging now is obesity,” she told media during the NNC’s fifth national conference of district and city nutrition program coordinators.
This can be attributed to the popularity of fast food and processed food, which are usually high in salt, fat and sugar, Enteria noted.
“It’s also because of their sedentary lifestyle. Almost all children are into gadgets. They just sit in front of computers. Games like tumbang preso are hardly played now,” she said, urging parents to make sure that their children exercise and eat a balanced diet of “go, grow and glow foods.”
Go foods include rice, bread and noodles; grow foods are meat, fish and beans; and glow foods are fruits and vegetables.
“You don’t have to buy expensive food. Just make sure that there are go, grow and glow foods on children’s plates. Otherwise they may develop non-communicable diseases like diabetes and heart and respiratory illnesses,” Enteria added.
The NNC is pushing for the exclusive breastfeeding of babies during the first six months of life to lower the risk of overweight and obesity.
This means that the infant receives only breast milk and no other liquids – even water – or solids are given to them, except for medicine, vitamins and oral rehydration solutions.
The 2013 national nutrition survey of the Food and Nutrition and Research Institute shows the number of obese Filipinos rose from 14.5 percent in 1993 to 31.1 percent in 2013. This means that three out of 10 Filipinos are obese.
During the conference, the NNC underscored the need to ensure proper nutrition during the child’s first 1,000 days.
Health Assistant Secretary and NNC executive director Maria Bernardita Flores said the first 1,000 days of life is the “window of opportunity to improve the nutrition of the next generation of children.”
Ensuring optimal nutrition in the first 1,000 days means having an intervention package composed of prenatal care and nutrition; exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months; and appropriate complementary feeding starting at six months while continuing breastfeeding.
“But why focus on the first 1,000 days? Poor nutrition in the first 1,000 days results in stunting, underweight, disease and possibly death. If the child survives, poor nutrition leaves a mark that is permanent and irreversible,” Flores said.
Poor nutrition in the first two years of life affects the physical, cognitive and behavioral development of the child, which in turns hampers the child’s capacity for education and productivity later in life, Flores added.