NAVAL, Biliran – With
this year’s 32nd nutrition month celebration held throughout the
country in the month of July, the proper nutrition of the school-age
children between 6 to 10 years old is the main focus of the activities
to be undertaken by the different nutrition program implementors and
stakeholders in the country.
The theme for this
year’s Nutrition Month Celebration is “Kumain nang Right, para
maging batang Bright”. The theme reinforces the vital role of
proper nutrition in creating a bright child which is in fulfillment of
the child’s basic right to adequate nutrition and care as provided for
in the Philippine Constitution.
In the latest results
of the national nutrition surveys conducted in 2003 by the Food and
Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and
Technology (FNRI-DOST), it showed that 27 in every 100 children 6-10
years old or about 2.5 million children are underweight for their age.
The results conducted
by FNRI-DOST also showed that 37 in every 100 children 6-10 years old
or about 3.4 million children are stunted or short for their age and
37 in every 100 children 6-12 years old are anemic.
In a nutrition related
document released by the National Nutrition Council (NNC), it
enumerated the three consequences of poor nutrition among school-age
children such as undernutrition which can lead to poor mental and
physical development, high risk to infections and poor performance in
school and ultimately lower levels of productivity in adulthood.
The paper also
mentioned iron deficiency anemia as the second consequence of poor
nutrition among school-age children which can lead to growth
retardation, inattentiveness, decreased social responsiveness, low
levels of concentration, less motivation for intellectually
challenging roles and low level of over-all intellectual development
leading to lower scores on mental and motor development tests.
The third consequence
mentioned is the overnutrition and obesity which can lead to serious
heart problems and diabetes at a young age which could have serious
health, economic and social implications in adulthood.
The paper further
mentioned some nutrition and health-related behavioral concerns of
school-age children which greatly affects their nutrition such as
skipping meals, high intake of foods that are high in fats and sugar
but low in other nutrients, frequent snacking or snacking too close to
the main meal resulting to loss of appetite during the main meal,
practices that increase the risk of parasitism and water and
food-borne diseases like diarrhea, gastro-enteritis and hepatitis A
and inactivity due to long hours of watching TV or playing computer
games.
In order to address
these concerns, the NNC suggested several things to be done like
setting a sleeping time for the child, give a well-balanced breakfast,
emphasize healthy eating, practice hand washing before and after
eating and after using toilet, teach personal hygiene and encourage
physical activity like doing some gardening with the children.
Prevalence of Underweight, 0-5 year-old Children in Region 8
Year 2005
|
Province / City |
% Prevalence |
Province / City |
% Prevalence |
|
Northern Samar |
29.85 |
Ormoc City |
18.09 |
|
Samar |
29.78 |
Biliran |
17.86 |
|
Calbayog City |
22.55 |
Tacloban City |
16.75 |
|
Leyte |
19.89 |
Southern Leyte |
10.86 |
|
Eastern Samar |
19.29 |
Maasin City |
7.85 |
source: OPT
