An official from the Department of Science and Technology – Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) expressed alarm at the rising number of Filipinos getting obese, which is now at 46 percent.
“Obesity is really alarming based on our recent National Nutrition Survey, 46 percent ng ating mga populasyon ay obese (46 percent of our population are obese). It is alarming as obesity is a risk factor to non-communicable diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and heart diseases,” DOST-FNRI director Imelda Angeles-Agdeppa said in a press conference on Thursday, November 9.
According to the 2021 Expanded National Nutrition Survey (ENNS) of the DOST-FNRI, 46 percent of Filipinos are considered obese. Being overweight or obese is due to unhealthy eating habits and lack of regular physical activities.
“This is more on physical inactivity, at saka lack of physical activity, so there should really be a balance between the physical activity and food intake,” Agdeppa said.
“If snacks, iniisip natin agad, ‘yung bibingka, white bread, tapos may ham (When we think of snacks, we go for high-calorie foods such as bibingka, white bread, with ham, when ideally)… it should not be that complicated,” she added.
She said the balance must be struck on how much food to eat, which food to eat, and how much time to spend on doing exercises or physical activities.
Aside from being overweight, Agdeppa said that they have been long advocating to combat undernutrition, stunting, and micronutrient deficiency as well.
DOST-FNRI also said that unregulated food intake could affect Body Mass Index (BMI), which may lead to obesity and overweight even among Filipino teenagers.
“The DOST-FNRI recommends maintaining good health and preventing obesity through proper diet and regular moderate physical activity to achieve normal body weight,” the agency said on its website.
Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), in a previous report, said they are alarmed by the rising obesity rate in Davao Region.
Among children under the age of five, the obesity rate is 2.7 percent for the entire region, with Davao City having the highest rate of 3.2 percent and Davao del Sur with 1.5 percent.
For children aged five to ten, the obesity rate is 5.2 percent in the Davao Region, with Davao City having the highest rate of 8.2 percent and Davao del Sur at 3.6 percent.
In the age group of 10 to 19, the obesity rate is 7.2 percent for the Davao Region, with Davao City having the highest rate of 9.2 percent and Davao del Sur at 5.6 percent. ICE