Malnutrition still prevalent among Pinoys – Villar

LOS BAÑOS, Philippines – Micronutrient deficiency has remained prevalent in the Philippines but cases of obesity have also increased, Sen. Cynthia Villar said.

“The status of micronutrient malnutrition in our country is a cause for concern,” Villar stressed in a recent lecture at the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).

Citing data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAO), Villar reported that iron deficiency disorder or anemia is the most alarming of the micronutrient deficiencies, affecting a considerable proportion of Filipino infants (56.6 percent), pregnant women (50.7 percent), lactating women (45.7 percent) and older males (49.1 percent).

FAO figures also show that about four million (32.8 percent) of the preschool population are underweight for their age. Three million (19.8 percent) adolescents and five million (12.2 percent) adults, including older persons, are underweight and chronically energy-deficient.

On the other hand, the incidence of overweight, wasting and stunting that was prevalent among Filipino children before has become common among adolescents and adults.

“Underweight, stunting and obesity are the root causes of diseases, increase health risks and reduce life expectancy. Potentially fatal conditions associated with obesity include Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, cancers and gall bladder disease,” Villar said.

The cumulative cost of all non-communicable diseases, for which obesity is a leading risk factor, was estimated at $1.4 trillion in 2010.

Its toll on the economy is just as alarming. FAO pegged at $3.5 trillion per year the economic costs of malnutrition globally, owing to lost productivity and direct health care costs.

“Although hunger statistics are still rising worldwide, it is not anymore merely about feeding or getting fed, but to have the means to grow sufficient nutritionally and culturally acceptable food,” said Villar, also the chairperson of the Senate committee on government corporations and public enterprises.

She cited a 2008 Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) survey showing that Filipinos consumed less and less vegetables over the past three decades. From 145 grams of vegetables per day in 1978, consumption declined to only 110 grams in 2008.

In view of this finding, the Department of Health and the Department of Education have been promoting backyard gardening among people, including school children, through vegetable planting so they could have their own supply of vegetables which can also be a source of income.

During the observance of World Food Day last Oct. 16, Villar pledged support the promotion of ecological agriculture because “it empowers us to plant, grow and harvest our own food that is clean, grown naturally and free from synthetic pesticides and fertilizer.”

“Through vegetable gardening, the people will have easy access to nutritious food that can considerably lessen the country’s malnutrition problem,” she added.