Lapid wants healthy food program to replace chips, sugary drinks in schools
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Lito Lapid wants junk food and sugary drinks banned from primary and secondary schools and replaced with programs offering health food and beverages.
Senate Bill No. 1231, or the Healthy Food and Beverage in Public Schools Act, presents these measures as a solution to the problems of child obesity and malnutrition among Filipinos, which lead to the deaths of 95 Filipino children each day per the findings of a 2014 UNICEF Philippines report cited by the senator.
In his explanatory note, the senator argued that healthy eating plays an important role in learning and cognitive development. He said studies have shown that children malnourished children struggle in school and get lower test scores, which could lead them to drop out entirely.
"If we ensure that students have sufficient access to foods with high nutritional value, we can ensure that we can increase not only the health level of students, but also their performance in school," he said.
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According to the Philippine Nutrition Council, some 40 percent adult Filipinos are obese, and consumption of junk food is largely to blame.
Under the proposal, owners or operators of any canteen or establishment found to be selling junk food within the prescribed premises of any public or private school faces a stiff penalty of either up to P100,000 or six to twelve months imprisonment.
Should the proposed measure pass, a Healthy Food and Beverage Program will be established that aims to prohibit the "sale, distribution, and promotion of junk food and sugary drinks inside and 100 meters from the perimeter of all public educational institutions."
"This program that we are promoting not only aims to reduce the cases of obesity and malnutrition in our country and improve the health and well-being of our students, it also aims to develop good habits or habits that they can bring to their aging," Lapid added.
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