Some experts in the Cordillera are considering obesity and overweight people in the country as a national concern.

Dr. Nowell Benedict Catbagan, medical officer IV of the Department of Internal Medicine of the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center, said the prevalence of both weight issues has almost doubled since 1993.

The overall picture that shows of an increasing trend of either obese or overweight people in the Philippines is disturbing, Catbagan said, since the 2015 national average prevalence of 31.1 percent is almost double the country’s prevalence in 1993, which was only at 16.3 percent, based on the survey of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute.

“We can say that the country’s obesity and overweight situation is already an epidemic,” he said.  

The medical officer said being obese or overweight leads to serious health problems, such as high risk of having cardiovascular diseases, heart attack, diabetes, reproductive health disorders, constructive sleep apnea, and certain cancers.

Catbagan said patients who have weight issues are advised on how to properly manage their diet and to increase their physical activities. Interventions are provided on a case to case basis, among which is targeting weight loss of between eight to 10 percent of the baseline weight of the patient by reducing caloric consumption.

Among regions, the Cordillera has registered a high prevalence of obesity and overweight among adults 20 years old and above – higher than the national average – based on the 2015 Food and Nutrition Research Institute survey data.

FNRI statistics showed that 34.5 percent of the region’s total population are either obese or overweight in 2015, higher than the national prevalence average.

Benguet registered the highest rate, with 36.2 percent obese and 10.9 percent overweight, followed by Abra with 24.9 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively; Apayao – 11.5 percent and 4.7 percent; Ifugao 17.5 percent and 2.4 percent; and Mountain Province 23.9 percent and 7.6 percent; Kalinga has an average of 26 percent for both.

Catbagan said the high rate in the region, particularly in Benguet including Baguio City, is due to the high level of insufficient physical activity, which is common among individuals living in urban areas compared to those in rural communities.

He said it is also important to assess and attend to the psychological or mental state of the patient, in cases where the obese patient is subjected to bullying or fat shaming, or when other factors such as when overeating, which leads to weight gain, is a patient’s way of coping with depression, stress, or anxiety.

Dr. Catherine Crisostomo, BGHMC Department of Psychiatry medical officer IV, said obesity affects one’s self-esteem, so interventions would include helping patients with weight issues enhance their self-esteem through cognitive behaviorial psychotherapy.

“We help them by making them focus not on their physical look as a source of self-esteem, but on their capabilities,” she said. by Hanna C. Lacsamana (published on bagbuio midland courier, sept. 16, 2018 issue)