Sen. Cynthia Villar, the chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform, speaks during one of the Senate hearings in this file photo taken in March 2023. Senate PRIB file photo / Voltaire F. Domingo
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Senator Cynthia Villar has sought the immediate passage of a measure to address the alarming rates of obesity in the country.
According to Villar, her Senate Bill No. 2230, or the Anti-Obesity Act of 2023, 鈥渁ims to establish a comprehensive nationwide anti-obesity campaign to control and prevent obesity among Filipinos.鈥�
鈥淚 submit that it is crucial for the government, in line with its duty to look after the health of all Filipinos, to acknowledge obesity as a growing problem among us,鈥� she said in the explanatory note of the bill she filed this week.
鈥淲ith that recognition, it鈥檚 high time that we come together to put proactive and comprehensive plans into action to curb this health issue. Hence, I seek the immediate passage of this bill,鈥� she said.
The senator noted that about 800 million individuals worldwide are affected by obesity, 鈥減redisposing them to a higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and certain types of cancers.鈥�
In the Philippines,聽 the number of overweight and obese Filipinos has reached聽 27 million, as earlier reported by the Department of Science and Technology鈥檚 Food and Nutrition Research Institute, the senator said.
鈥淚f no proactive measures are undertaken, the overall rates of overweight and obesity are projected to continue rising, potentially resulting in over 30% of Filipino adolescents being overweight or obese by 2030,聽 Villar also said, citing the 鈥淟andscape Analysis on Overweight and Obesity in Children, Philippines.鈥�
Obesity was defined in her bill as an 鈥渆xcess proportion of total body fat usually diagnosed when a person鈥檚 weight is at least 20% more than his or her average or ideal weight.
鈥淚t is usually measured in body mass index, and is affected by, but not limited to, age, gender, genetics, environmental factors, physical activity, psychological factors illness and medication,鈥� it further said.
The bill then proposed the creation of a聽 multi-sectoral committee led by the Department of Health to implement a National Anti-Obesity Prevention and Control Program.
The committee would be tasked to promote awareness and prevention programs, provide provisions for consultations at the nearest health centers, and conduct information and education campaigns on the prevention and control of obesity, among others.
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