BAGUIO CITY – Recognizing the importance of nutrition, the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera (DA-CAR) reiterated the need for everyone in the department to make informed food choices and develop healthful eating and physical activity habits.
During the retirement program of outgoing Regional Executive Director Cameron Odsey last July 25,2023, the regional agriculture office advocated healthy and nutrition-based food products which was served to all employees as its support to the National Nutrition Month held every July which focuses on eating healthy and building resilience against malnutrition.
Presidential Decree No. 491 (June 25, 1974), or the “Nutrition Act of the Philippines”, created the National Nutrition Council (NNC) under the Office of the President as the policy-making and coordinating body for nutrition, and declaring the month of July as Nutrition month.
The theme for this year’s celebration, “Healthy Diet Gawing (Make It) Affordable For All,” centers on making healthy diets more accessible in order to help improve the health and well-being of people all over the Philippines. The Department of Health Cordillera (DOH-CAR) and the NNC has called for a whole-of-society approach in ensuring affordable and sustainable healthy diet in Cordillera communities as they led the launching of this year’s celebration last July 3.
In March this year, the Department of Health (DOH) cited data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) that the stunting rate among children aged 0 to 23 months had plateaued over the last 10 years at 21.6 percent. While data from the PSA showed 12.3 percent of children aged 0 to 23 months are underweight.
Children aged 0 to 4 years old accounted for over 11 million as of the 2020 census, or a little over 10 percent of the Philippines’ estimated population of 113 million.
Malnutrition, according to the National Nutrition Council (NNC), is a serious problem in the Philippines. The NNC said about one in three Filipino children under the age of five is stunted, meaning they are too short for their age. Stunting can lead to a number of health problems, including impaired cognitive development and increased risk of chronic diseases later in life.
Based on the World Food Program and Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology, 45 percent of households in the Cordillera are unable to afford nutritious diet. The 2020 data of the Food and Agriculture Organization showed that the cost of a healthy diet/meal is P242.30 per person per day, or around P1,212 per day for a household with five members.
The Top 10 nutrition trends for 2023 are Climate-friendly and Sustainable Nutrition, Plant-based Nutrition, Digital Nutrition Therapy, Convenience Food and Healthy To-Go-meals, Personalized Nutrition, Nutrition for the Gut, Awareness for Healthy Eating, and Mindful Eating.
