Saturday, September 29, 2007 More youth eating high-risk food: study By Jujemay G. Awit Sun.Star Staff Reporter
SOCIAL change has caused a shift in dietary patterns, resulting in a number of health threats.
A study on “nutrition transition” showed that today’s youth is eating food items considered riskier.
Nutrition transition refers to changes in patterns of diet and physical activity that accompany rapid economic growth.
The study found that the number of overweight and obese adult Filipino women increased dramatically in 18 years. It showed an increase of about 30 percent among overweight women from 1984 to 2002. Obese women showed an increase of about eight percent.
Called the “Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey (CLHNS),” the study showed a change from traditional to processed foods and an increased intake of low-nutrient density snack foods and soft-drinks.
Dr. Linda Adair of the University of North Carolina conducted the research for future project on “fetal programming in the context of the nutrition transition.”
It was done in collaboration with the University of San Carlos-Office of Population Studies Foundation.
Specifically, it noted an increase in dietary fat and sugar and less of fruit and vegetables.
There is also a prevalence of jobs that are not too physical and more television or computer time, which encourages more sitting time.
These bring in risks of obesity, hypertension and other chronic diseases.
According to the study, fat intake among the youth almost doubled in about a decade.
In 1991, the youth had an average consumption of 12 percent calories from fat. In 2002, the percentage rose to 23 percent.
Nutrition transition also has a connection with the poor nutrition, even during the fetal stage.
“Risk is thought to be worse for those with a history of nutritional insufficiency followed by exposure to adequate or excess nutrition in later life,” read the theory of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, the theory Adair utilized in her study.
The study showed that 11.5 percent of children were born with low birth weight (LBW). By age two, 65.8 percent of the girls are stunted while close to 70 percent of the males are underdeveloped.
“Most human epidemiologic studies relate birth weight to later risk of disease,” stated Adair in her report.
She explained “birth weight” as an indicator of prenatal growth, where small size may reflect “pre-term birth or intra-uterine growth retardation.” Intra-uterine growth retardation may be a result of poor nutrition. (JGA)
