Around 37 million Filipinos are either grossly overweight or obese, an official of the Philippines Nutrition Council said Friday, warning the public against the consumption of unhealthy food.
While there are also millions of Filipinos who experience hunger due to the rising cost of commodities, there are those who suffer the ill effects of being overweight, said Jovita Raval, chief of the Nutrition Information and Education Division.
Obesity is often the result of too much consumption of salty and fatty foods, as well as lack of sleep and proper exercise, she said.
Health experts say obesity is caused by eating too much and moving too little, adding if a person consumes high amounts of energy, particularly fat and sugars but does not burn off the energy through exercise activity, much of the surplus energy will be stored by the body as fat.
The Nutrition Council is pushing for the approval of a “nutrient profile model” which will give consumers a list of unhealthy foods that should not be advertised to children, she said.
The government also needs to address the opposite side of the spectrum, which is malnutrition, Raval said.
According to nutrition authorities, lack of proper nutrition, caused by not having enough to eat, not eating enough of the right things, or being unable to use the food that one does eat.
They said nearly 67 percent of the country’s population suffers from malnutrition.
Raval advised families to prioritize buying food—especially fruits and vegetables—over other expenses such as vices.
Planting simple crops can help families get nutritious food at very minimal costs, she said.