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During this pandemic when most people are trying to stay at home, there are a lot of front liners bravely facing the virus every day. Our doctors, nurses, medical technicians, pharmacists, midwives, and other hospital and medical workers are the front liners who are the heroes in this battle against COVID-19 and are risking their lives every day.
To prevent ourselves from being inflicted with COVID-19, we must strengthen our immune system and make sure to practice a healthy and balanced diet. The Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), Department of Health (DOH), and National Nutrition Council (NNC) have come up with a visual tool called Pinggang Pinoy to guide Filipinos in consuming the right amount of food in every meal.
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- Category: Region 9
Childhood cancer is devastating for children as well as those who care for them. It affects the growth and development of a child since instead of focusing on their younger years in school, playing and socializing with other children, their focus is on their medication and think how long will they still live. Aside from this, parents too face many challenges as they may feel overwhelmed and unsure of what the future holds to their children. Seeking support for their child’s survival and treatment can be very hard too. Hence, the month of September yearly, is celebrated as International Childhood Awareness Month to raise support, funding, and awareness of childhood cancers and the impact for sufferers and their families.
The most common type of cancers that occur often in children are leukemia, brain and spinal cord tumors, neuroblastoma, Wilms tumor, lymphoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, retinoblastoma and bone cancer. Other types of cancers are rare in children, but they do happen sometimes. In rarer cases, children may even develop cancers that are more common in adults. Causes of these cancers are hard to determine but some are caused by rare inherited conditions. Some research says that environmental exposures such as second-hand cigarette smoke, electrical power lines, cell phones and chemical exposures in pregnant moms can also be a factor in acquiring childhood cancers.
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Proper nutrition during pregnancy, infancy and early childhood is vital to ensure growth, health and development of a child. Breastfeeding is known for its numerous benefits for the mother and the child. It provides superior nutrition for optimum growth, protects against infection and allergies and promotes bonding and development. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months, and give complementary foods starting at 6 months while continuing breastfeeding up to two years of age or beyond.
Complementary feeding is the process of giving an infant food in addition to breast milk. When the child turns 6 months of age, his or her nutrient needs increases, thus what is provided by breast milk alone is not sufficient that is why complementary foods are necessary to meet those needs. However, mothers, caregivers and family members must learn the proper way in giving complementary foods in order to ensure that the infant’s nutritional needs are met. Here are some tips for appropriate complementary feeding for your baby:
Read more: Mothers know best: Tips on complementary feeding for your baby
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Blood circulates through our body and delivers essential substances like oxygen and nutrients to the body cells. It also transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood is essential because there is no substitute for it. In order to create awareness and understanding in blood-related diseases, the month of September of every year is Blood Diseases Month by virtue of Proclamation No. 1833 signed on July 6, 2009, by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Accordingly, blood-diseases related to nutrition and environmental conditions continue to increase in prevalence and pose serious effects to Filipinos. The most common blood disorder is anemia, which is a condition where the body lacks enough healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin. In treating this type of blood disorder, it is important to increase the number of healthy red blood cells in the body. Another common blood disorder is hemophilia, which is a genetic disorder that affects the blood’s ability to clot due to low levels of blood-clotting proteins. Unfortunately, there is no cure yet for this condition. The only treatment available is replacement therapy, wherein concentrates of clotting factor VIII (for hemophilia A) and IX (for hemophilia B) are slowly dripped or injected into the vein.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) defines adolescents as individuals who belong in the 10-19 years age group. Many adolescents continue to be affected by vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, hepatitis B, pertussis, meningitis and rubella because vaccination programs have not focused on improving immunization coverage among adolescents. Thus, to raise awareness on the important roles of vaccines on preventing serious diseases for adolescents, yearly the month of August is celebrated as National Adolescents Immunization month in the Philippines.
The adolescent period is the time that an individual experiences dynamic development since it is the phase of transition to adulthood. It is the perfect period that adolescents should be educated on the effective preventive care measures that promote safe behaviors and the development of lifelong health habits such as timely immunization. This is the best way to avoid serious and deadly diseases that may not only be experienced during childhood, but may also pass on to your adolescent years.
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Obesity is a common health problem affecting millions of people all over the globe. It is a condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health. It has been a considerable health problem in the Philippines thus, by virtue of Proclamation No. 162 dated August 21, 1999, the former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada declared the first week of September of every year as the Obesity Prevention Awareness Week in the Philippines.
It has been observed that obesity is among the many growing variables in the country to cause serious health problems due to the growing addiction to the Western type of lifestyle and diet that could adversely affect national socio-economic development. If one wants to know if he or she is obese, the World Health Organization (WHO) points out that one may use the height (in meters) and weight (in kilograms) to calculate the body mass index (BMI), which is quantified by dividing the weight by the square height (kg/m2). If the BMI resulted to greater or equal to 25, it is interpreted as overweight. On the other hand, a BMI equal or greater than 30 is considered obese.
