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Poor nutrition
IN THE first quarter of this year, the National Nutrition Council said the incidence of undernutrition in Western Visayas was consistently declining. It defined undernutrition as the nutrient deficiency of the body from not eating enough food and this usually affects the balance of all the nutrients in the body. Mostly affected by this are schoolchildren.
How can we curb undernutrition? One simply solution is to make mandatory the child nutrition program in all public elementary schools and barangay day care centers.
The country’s chronic malnutrition rate has increased from 30.3 percent in 2013 to 33.5 percent in 2015, based on latest Food and Nutrition Research Institute data. Moreover, a study by the international organization Save the Children showed that one in three Filipino children suffers from stunting.
Poor nutrition remains a huge problem in the Philippines which has one of the highest prevalence of malnourished and stunted children arising primarily from inadequate food intake. Undernourishment is largely preventable especially with early and effective interventions.
A mandatory child nutrition program in schools (feeding program) will also improve child attendance and survival rates in day care centers and schools. A good school-based nutrition program must also integrate basic knowledge of good nutrition including family nutrition practices in the curricula.
A long-term, sustainable program is needed to address malnutrition through the institutionalization of a child nutrition program that will include complementary feeding, micronutrient supplementation, weighing and growth monitoring, deworming of children, and promotion of improved hygiene practices.
There must be a serious effort to tackle hunger and malnutrition among our school-aged children especially at the grassroots level. A well-nourished population is key to a progressive country.
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