Experts push passage of hospital nutrition care bill

MANILA, Philippines — Experts are pushing for the passage of a bill institutionalizing nutrition care in all public and private hospitals nationwide, saying standardized services could help identify nutritional risks early, improve patient recovery and reduce complications.

Backing House Bill 3806 and Senate Bill 1213, or the proposed Wastong Nutrisyon sa Ospital Act, University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) Institute of Human Nutrition and Food director Liezl Atienza said the proposed legislation could address differences in how hospitals provide nutrition services by establishing clearer and more consistent standards.

“Patients should not have to depend on which hospital they enter to receive appropriate nutrition care. A more consistent system can help identify nutritional risks earlier, provide timely intervention and support better recovery,” he said.

The Professional Regulatory Board of Nutrition and Dietetics and several nutrition-dietetics organizations urged hospitals to integrate the nutrition care process into electronic medical records, prioritize nutrition services in financial planning and procurement, provide adequate support for patient meals and specialized nutrition and establish nutrition and dietetics services in all public and private hospitals.

The experts also called on Congress to make the nutrition care process a standard hospital management service, saying better nutrition management could improve patient recovery while helping ease congestion in the country’s health care facilities.

The groups warned that nutrition care should not be treated as an ancillary hospital service, noting that malnutrition among patients can contribute to complications, longer hospital stays, delayed recovery, readmission and higher mortality.

Child nutrition

Beyond hospital care, lawmakers are also moving to strengthen nutrition interventions for children.

The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM2) welcomed yesterday the bicameral conference committee’s finalization of the proposed National Children’s Nutrition Act, which seeks to expand feeding programs and improve nutrition support from early childhood through the elementary years.

EDCOM2 findings showed that one in four Filipino children is stunted, while only a quarter of children under five meet the recommended energy intake.

Stunting, commonly caused by chronic undernutrition during the First 1,000 Days, is associated with poorer educational outcomes and can cause irreversible damage to cognitive development.

The reconciled measure seeks to repeal and replace Republic Act 11037, or the Masustansyang Pagkain para sa Batang Pilipino Act, by establishing a National Children’s Nutrition Program that addresses malnutrition through interventions tailored to different stages of a child’s development.

Under the measure, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, in coordination with local government units, will provide supplemental feeding to all children aged two to below five years under the Early Childhood Care and Development system, regardless of nutritional status.

The program will cover children attending daycare centers, participating in supervised neighborhood play and enrolled in community- and home-based programs.

For school-age children, the Department of Education will provide school-based feeding to all public school learners from kindergarten to Grade 3, regardless of nutritional status, while undernourished learners in Grades 4 to 6 will receive targeted feeding.