Cancer-related deaths up as Pinoys consume more meat

MANILA, Philippines - Cancer-related diseases topped the leading causes of death in the country as Filipinos’ consumption of meat increased over the past 30 years, according to a report by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB).

Citing data from several waves of the National Nutrition Survey conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute between 1978 and 2008, the NSCB said Filipinos’ consumption of meat products increased on the average by 152.1 percent to 58 grams per day from 23 grams per day.

Consumption of poultry products increased by 257.1 percent, or from seven grams per day to 25 grams, NSCB secretary-general Jose Ramon Albert said in the report titled “Kahit Pasko, Kumain ng Wasto.”

“It is thus not surprising that increases were likewise observed in fats and oil consumption, which increased by 15.4 percent,” Albert said.

Data from the National Nutrition Survey also showed that consumption of vegetables dropped by 24.1 percent, and fruits by 48.1 percent in the last three decades.

Albert cited earlier NSCB reports which noted that heart diseases were the primary causes of death in the Philippines.

“In our 11 April 2012 Sexy Statistics article, we mentioned that diseases of the heart have consistently been the top leading cause of death for the past 10 years in the Philippines and that the prevalence rate for heart diseases has been increasing. In the early to late 80s, heart diseases ranked second (next to pneumonia), but starting from 1990 to 2006, heart illnesses have become the primary cause of death in the country,” Albert said.

Data from the Civil Registration System of the National Statistics Office show that diseases of the heart and diseases of the vascular system consistently figured as the top two leading causes of death.

Meanwhile, citing data from the Department of Health (DOH), Albert noted an increase in the number of cases of cancer-related deaths.

In the 80s, cancer-related deaths ranked fifth in the list of leading causes of death.

“While this may be partly an issue of better identification of cancer, in recent times, it also may suggest something about our nutrition and lifestyle choices,” Albert said.

The top five leading causes of morbidity in the Philippines for 2010 were acute respiratory infection, acute lower respiratory tract infection and pneumonia, acute watery diarrhea, hypertension, and bronchitis. 

Morbidity is a diseased state or poor health due to diseases, which affects the overall state of a patient. The incidence of diseases is a function of the environment as well as lifestyle.