Senate Committee on Health and Demography chief Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go urged Filipinos to maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle in light of the recent report that obesity prevalence has increased in the Philippines, particularly among children and adults.
Go warned that obesity can result in more serious health problems, including heart ailments, stroke, diabetes, and other noncommunicable diseases.
“Ito namang sa obesity, alam mo mahirap po, another case po ‘yan, ‘yang mga tumataba. Ito ang nagko-cause ng mga heart problem, nagkakaroon ng diabetes, heart diseases, stroke, and other non-communicable diseases (It's about obesity, you know it's difficult, that's another case, those who gain weight. This causes heart problems, diabetes, heart diseases, stroke, and other non-communicable diseases,” said Go, during a recent interview in Navotas City.
The Expanded National Nutrition Survey by the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI), that was conducted from July 2021 to July of this year, has shown that 38.6 percent of adults aged 20 to 59 and 14.1 percent of children aged 5 to 10 were obese, as were 13.1 percent of people aged 10 to 19, and 14.1 percent of children aged 5 to 10.
The rates are higher when compared to the overall prevalence of obesity in 2018.
The DOST-FNRI said that due to the high incidence of obesity, the country failed to meet its target of "no increase or reduced prevalence of obesity," which was stated in the Philippine Plan for Action 2017 to 2022.
Go then renewed his call to Filipinos to maintain a healthy lifestyle, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic imposed travel and mobility restrictions, resulting in less physical activities.
“Malaking factor po ngayon ang pandemya, two years po tayong nagkaroon ng travel restrictions at less physical activities, walang exercise (The pandemic is a big factor now, for two years we have had travel restrictions and less physical activities, no exercise),” said Go.
“Ine-engganyo ko po ang mga magulang na medyo dapat maging fit tayo, balansehin po natin ang lahat, pangalagaan po natin ang kalusugan ng mga kabataan (I urge the parents that we should be somewhat fit, let's balance everything, let's take care of the health of the youth),” he added.
Parents, he said, should get their children involved in sports. Go, who also chairs the Senate Committee on Sports and a sports enthusiast himself, has expressed support for initiatives and introduced measures to promote sports in the country, including the development of grassroots sports programs.
“Aside from encouraging the youth to stay away from illegal vices, encourage them to get into sports. Nakakatulong rin po ‘yun sa pagiging healthy ng ating mga kabataan. Hindi lamang po para sa kabataan, para din ito sa matatanda na rin po (Aside from encouraging the youth to stay away from illegal vices, encourage them to get into sports. That also helps our young people to be healthy. It's not just for young people, it's also for old people),” he stressed.