The country’s future labor force are either malnourished or have already adopted bad habits, such as smoking and drinking, based on the latest data from the Department of Science and Technology’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute .
“During this pandemic the most vulnerable have been hit the hardest. Therefore ensuring good nutrition especially of the most vulnerable, that is women and children builds our resilience as a nation,” National Nutrition Council Executive Director Azucena M. Dayanghirang said in a message of support at the ENNS data dissemination event.
Data for Filipinos aged 5 to 10 years old showed 20.8 percent were underweight; 19.7 percent were stunted; 14.1 percent were overweight; and 6.9 percent suffered from wasting. The FNRI data also showed 13.2 percent of Filipinos aged 10 to 19.9 years are current drinkers or those who consumed one or more drinks of alcohol in the year preceding the survey.