Less rice intake may lessen obesity among children

MANILA, Philippines – Reducing rice intake may help lower the incidence of obesity among children, according to the government.

However, Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral said rice, a carbohydrate is an essential nutrient needed by the body.

“Normal is for us to take about 50 percent of our caloric requirements from carbohydrates such as rice or corn,” she said.

Government officials have been urging Filipinos to lessen their consumption of the staple in favor of fruits and vegetables.

In a 2005 study, the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) found that about 300,000 Filipino children nationwide are overweight.

The study also found that android or apple-shape obesity, a common risk factor to chronic degenerative disease, is also a risk factor to hypertension.

The FNRI encouraged Filipinos to increase vegetable and fruit consumption; limit the eating of fatty foods, especially those from animals; avoid too much sugar and salt; exercise regularly; and avoid smoking.

Rice remains the country’s basic staple and reports show the national daily consumption is 33,000 metric tons, up from 29,000 MT recorded two years ago.

The Philippine per capita consumption had been growing at unprecedented levels, reports said.

In 1990, per capita consumption of rice was at 92.53 kilos a year; in 2000, 103.16 kilos; in 2007, 118.70 kilos.

A 15-kilo increase in per capita consumption meant an additional 1.275 million MT in consumption.

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) earlier warned that the hike in the prices of food will hit the poor the hardest and pose risks to their nutrition, especially if the government will not take measures to shield them from price increases.

Higher food prices lead poor people to limit their food consumption and shift to even less-balanced diets, with harmful effects on health in the short and long run, the report said. – Helen Flores