More overweight kids in CAR than in national level

BAGUIO CITY – The number of Cordillera children and adolescents  who are  overweight  or obese are  higher than national level.

This was revealed in result of the 8th National Nutrition Survey released by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology during regional forum held Oct. 9  at El Cielito Inn here.

The anthropometric result among children 0-5 years old showed in Cordillera Administrative Region, about six in every 100 or 6.1 percent preschool children are overweight.

This is higher than the national prevalence of 5.0%.

For school-age children aged 6-10 years old, the survey revealed that about one in every 10 or 11.7% were overweight or obese based on their body mass index-for-age.

The national average  stands at  9.1%.

For adolescents aged 11-19 years old in CAR, about one in every 10 or 11.6 % were overweight and obese based on body mass index-for-age while the  national prevalence  is  8.3%.

According to  the FNRI-DOST,  overweight refers to above normal body weight relative to height, with a body mass index of 25 to 29.9, while obesity refers to an excess amount of body fat. However, recent studies claim that it is not just the amount of fat but its distribution in the body that determines the risk associated with cardiovascular diseases.

Rita Papey, the regional Nutrition coordinator of National Nutrition Council, said the region should focus more interventions on obesity from the regional down to the barangay level.

Meanwhile, Charmaine A. Duante, Supervising Science Research Specialist of FNRI-DOST, said the NNS is a designated statistical activity that will generate critical data for decision-making of the government and non-government sectors. -- Maria Aprila Cruz