The National Nutrition Council - National Capital Region (NNC-NCR) urged the public to make healthy eating a habit for life during the recently conducted Stakeholders’ Forum in line with the celebration of the 43rd Nutrition Month this July.
Anchored on the 2017 Nutrition Month theme: “Healthy diet, gawing habit – FOR LIFE!”, the forum aims to increase awareness of the public on the importance of eating a healthy diet which protects against malnutrition and non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, cardio-vascular diseases and certain types of cancer.
Around 250 participants from the different local government units in NCR, DSWD centers and residential care facilities, private schools and universities as well as partner agencies from the government and non-government organizations attended the forum held at Manila Grand Opera Hotel last July 25.
In her opening message, NNC-NCR Regional Nutrition Program Coordinator Milagros Elisa V. Federizo encouraged everyone to eat healthy to be healthy.
“We are facing a lot of nutrition challenges in the region: underweight, stunting, wasting, overweight and obesity and these nutritional challenges emanate from poor diet or unhealthy eating. We hope that you can be instrument of change. Help us promote good nutrition and let’s start the change in ourselves and in our family. Let us make an effort to teach children at an early age the habit of healthy eating for it has a big impact on their health in the future,” RNPC Federizo said.
Resource speaker Mary Ann R. Macatangay, Clinical Dietitian of Veterans Memorial Medical Center and Professor at the University of the East-Manila, discussed the “5 Keys to a Healthy Diet” based on the World Health Organization’s recommendations on how to have a healthy diet to prevent malnutrition and non-communicable diseases.
She encouraged everyone to follow these 5 keys to a healthy diet: 1) Breastfeed babies and young children; 2) Eat a variety of foods; 3) Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits; 4) Eat moderate amounts of fats and oils; and, 5) Eat less salt and sugars. “Prevention is better than cure. Life is a choice, so choose to eat healthy for longer and healthier life,” Macatangay stressed.
Participants were also enlightened on how to plan and prepare healthy meals by another resource speaker, Geraldine Maglalang-Cabello, a Culinary Nutrition Instructor at the Manila Tytana Colleges.
She corrected the misconceptions of many that healthy meals are not delicious and are expensive. She shared various cooking methods and techniques that can be done to preserve the vitamins and minerals to make the food healthier yet delicious.
“Healthy meals are not expensive. You can buy indigenous ingredients, utilize affordable yet nutrient-dense foods produced locally and grow fruits and vegetables at home,” Maglalang-Cabello emphasized.
The participants, in response, pledged their commitment to take the lead in promoting and advocating healthy diet in schools, work places and communities, residential care centers and facilities and to other stakeholders.
“We are what we eat. It is our choice if we want to be healthy or not. Let us start eating healthy if we want to live our lives to the fullest and be productive, healthy and strong. Let us make our diets healthy, and make it a habit, not only this month of July but for life,” RNPC Federizo highlighted.
Every July, the country celebrates Nutrition Month by virtue of Section 7 of Presidential Decree No. 491 or the “Nutrition Act of the Philippines” signed into law on 25 June 1974. (TAR/NPC MEVF/NNC-NCR)
