00:00 The National Nutrition Council has officially launched the Philippine Plan of Action for
00:04 Nutrition 2023 to 2028.
00:07 This strategic initiative aims to address the pressing issue of nutrition in the country
00:12 and set a clear road map for the next six years.
00:15 Ryan Lasigas tells us more.
00:18 It was already past three o'clock in the afternoon, but Annaline's five-year-old daughter has
00:24 only had a peanut butter sandwich.
00:26 The bread even came from the barangay.
00:29 Annaline and her husband make their living from collecting scrap and recyclable items.
00:40 It already feels like they hit the jackpot if they earn 200 pesos in a day.
00:45 But if they are unlucky, they will go home penniless or empty-handed.
00:55 Annaline's child is among one in four children who do not receive adequate nutrition.
00:59 Based on the data of the National Nutrition Council or NNC, up to three million children
01:04 age zero to five years old do not have enough nutrition.
01:07 Most of them are from the BARMM, Region 8 and Mimaropa.
01:12 Meanwhile, 27 million children are overweight or obese, with the highest number from the
01:17 NCR, Region 3, Calabarzon, and Dakar.
01:21 To address this, the NNC today launched the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition 2023-2028.
01:28 The PFAN will serve as the government's blueprint to address the problem of malnutrition.
01:33 The NNC says malnutrition also has a huge impact on children's brains.
01:38 "This is a critical age because if they are obese in the first two years, it is irreversible.
01:47 It also means that their brains are also obese.
01:51 That is why our school performance is not improving when they enter school because their
01:59 brains are also obese."
02:01 Aside from children, the NNC also targets the elderly and pregnant women.
02:06 "We have seen that there is a big problem with malnutrition in every life stage.
02:13 But we will still focus on the first 1000 days because if we can fix it, if we can make
02:19 the children grow, their risk for overweight and obesity will be lower later in life.
02:26 And of course, our population, the older persons, the senior citizens, are increasing."
02:34 Another major strategy to be implemented under the PFAN is the promotion of a healthy diet.
02:39 Certain policies, regulations, and legislation will be pursued to reduce the availability
02:45 of unhealthy foods.
02:46 "We will have a front of pack labeling so that consumers will know if they are healthy
02:54 or not.
02:55 We will also have a proposal of legislation to protect children from harmful marketing."
03:03 The Department of Health is confident the problem of improper nutrition in the country
03:07 can be addressed within a year.
03:10 "We can do it because we have food stamps, we have daycare feeding, we have school-age
03:16 feeding, and I saw other countries, like Costa Rica, which is not rich, but they have improved
03:24 the nutrition of their citizens."
03:27 Ryan Lizigas for The Nation.
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