Filipino children are eating fewer fruits and vegetables, and more sugar, salty and fatty products—contributing to a joint burden of malnutrition, poor growth and development, and increasing rates of overweight youth according to a recent UNICEF report.[1]
In fact, seventy-four percent of children aged 13 to 15 eat less than three portions of vegetables per day, while more than a third (38%) drink at least one soft drink per day.[2]This has become an urgent concern in the wake of recent findings on the link of COVID-19 and pediatric diabetes.
Overweight rates among children aged 5 to 10 also rose significantly from 10.4 percent in 2019 to 14 percent in 2022. Among adolescents aged 10 to 19, it increased from 10.7 to 13 percent from 2019 to 2022.[3]
With the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, worsening climate crisis, and rising prices of consumer goods, vulnerable families have had less access to fresh food and safe, protected areas for play in recent years.
UNICEF’s report, entitled “Children’s lived experience of the food environment,” revealed the reality of children’s lives and how the systems that drive malnutrition impact not only their diet and exercise, but also safety, hygiene, and financial security.[4]
“Malnutrition is a serious violation of a child’s right to adequate nutrition and can have serious long-term consequences for a child’s health, development, and well-being. Children need a varied and nutritious diet for their growth and development, and caregivers need support to provide their children with a healthy diet,” UNICEF Philippines Representative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov said.
The study accounted for over 100 children from lower-income families and localities, aged 6 months to 18 years. Here, UNICEF pinpointed the policies that the Philippines government and other stakeholders need to strengthen to provide children with better access to healthier diets and living conditions.
These included several recommendations to improve more children’s “food environments.” These ranged from restrictions on the marketing of unhealthy food and making local produce more affordable, to infrastructure which can ensure ready access to fresh food and potable water in communities—proving the need for a comprehensive, multi-sector approach to support the growth and development of children in the country.
[1] UNICEF. 2023. Children’s ‘lived experience’ of the food environment in the Philippines.
[2] World Health Organization (WHO). 2015. Global School-based Student Health Survey Philippines: 2015 Fact Sheet.
[3] Department of Science and Technology, Food and Nutrition Research Institution. Expanded National Nutrition Survey, 2019 and 2022.
[4] UNICEF. 2023. Children’s ‘lived experience’.