“We love our food and we like to eat”

Filipino’s lack the will power to say no to food and this is leading to a rise in obesity in the Southeast Asian nation.
A new survey by Reader’s Digest magazine has found that when it comes to eating food, Filipinos just can’t say “No”.
“That is true … I can relate to that,” said Garcia Renaldo, a Filipino construction worker in Vancouver.
“We love our food and we like to eat,” said Renaldo adding when Filipinos get together there is always plenty of food.
The Readers Digest survey covering 16 countries, asked over 16,500 people around the world about their views on weight and eating.
Filipinos are the likeliest to admit that “lack of willpower” in refusing good food is the top cause for being fat, compared to other countries that blame other factors.
The survey found that 95% of Filipinos said they enjoy good food, and that 82% of Filipinos admit to “simply not having the willpower to resist it.”
The Philippines also ranked low in terms of interest in slimming down, with only 38% of respondents saying they have tried to lose weight at least once in their lives.
The Readers Digest survey comes as a study warned that the number of overweight Filipinos is increasing.
The nationwide study by the Food and Nutrition Research Foundation (FNRI) in Manila found that 27 out of 100 Filipinos aged 20 and above are overweight (23.9%), 2 out of 10 children aged 5 years old and below are overweight (1.4%), while 2 out of every 100 children aged 6 to 10 are overweight as well (1.3%).
The nutritional study, found that the prevalence of obesity has been increasing since 1998.
Being overweight or obese can lead to lifestyle diseases like cancer, heart problems, and diabetes.
FNRI director Mario Capanzana said the rise in overweight Filipinos can be attributed to an increasingly sedentary lifestyle or when a person lacks exercise, according to media in the Philippines.
Capanzana said other lifestyle factors can contribute to being overweight like skipping breakfast, frequent snacking or eating, consuming larger portions of food, frequent consumption of fast food, or pure laziness.
Obesity is more frequent among females than males, the study found. One in every 2 women (54.8%) aged 20 years old and above classified as obese.
There was a 70% increase in obesity among Filipinas, from 10.7% to 18.3% between 1998 and 2003. The study also found there are more overweight Filipinos in higher income households than lower income ones.
The FNRI noted that a decrease in the consumption of fruits and vegetables and the increase in Filipinos’ consumption of meat and fatty or oily foods could be behind the higher incidence of lifestyle diseases like high cholesterol.
Hypercholesterolemia (high blood cholesterol) among adults in 2003 was twice as much as in 1998, and there was also a “significant increase” in the incidence of elevated LDL cholesterol (or “bad” cholesterol) among Filipinos.
The FNRI study noted that the change in Filipinos’ eating habits from healthy to more fatty foods could be explained by the increase in food commodity imports for processed foods.
These include processed meat (hotdogs, hamburgers, or meatloaf), frozen potatoes or french fries, and colas or sugary beverages.
The study also had some good news.
It found that the prevalence of undernutrition among Filipinos of all ages has been generally decreasing.
In 2003, only 27% or 3 million children (aged 5 and below) were found to be underweight for their age, compared to 72% or about 8 million children (aged 5 and below) who had normal nutritional status.
The study found that 97% of Filipino households consume foods with the “Sangkap Pinoy Seal”, placed on food products that are required to be fortified or added with micronutrients, as provided for in the Food Fortification Act of 2000.
However, only 16% of households know what a “Sangkap Pinoy Seal” means. Fortified food include sugar, cooking oil, flour, rice, fruit juices, fish and meat products, instant noodles, cheese, and biscuits.
The FNRI surveys found that the most commonly consumed fortified foods, labeled with the “Sangkap Pinoy Seal”, are instant noodles and sardines.
Further, 80% of households or mothers said they are aware of iodized salt - believed to alleviate iodine deficiency - but only 38% actually use it.
Despite this, more than half of households surveyed (56.4%) had salt found to contain iodine.
There are still traces of undernutrition, however, with 3 out of 10 children still suffering from poor nutrition.
Thirty percent or around 3.5 million children aged 5 and below were found to be short for their age, while 5.5% or 500,000 children were found to be thin or “wasted.” These problems are likely caused by undernutrition.
The NNS results found that there are more undernourished children in “food insecure” or poor households than in more well-off ones.
Household members are also not eating enough, with more than half (57%) of Filipino households consuming less than 100% of the required daily intake of nutrients and calories.
The study noted that national efforts should be strengthened to reduce the number of overweight adults and children, and to reduce the incidence of malnutrition, anemia, and chronic energy deficiency.
Part of the country’s Millennium Development goals in 2000 was eradicate poverty and hunger, as measured by the number of underweight children and adults in the Philippines.
The FNRI are mandated by the government to conduct studies on the nutritional status of Filipinos.
According to an October report from the World Health Organization (WHO), more people worldwide now die from being overweight and obese than from being underweight.
There are approximately 1.6 billion overweight or obese people in the world; at least 2.5 million deaths are attributable to these conditions annually. Nearly 18 million children under age five are estimated to be overweight.

Food for thought

The Country Where You’re Loved Just the Way You Are
HUNGARY
Not only are Hungarians the least likely to feel like their poundage is being eyed with public disapproval—a paltry 28 percent said their country’s emphasis on weight was too great—married folk are more apt to be content with the shape of their spouse. Only 11 percent of Hungarian men and 14 percent of women want their mates to get their ladle out of the goulash pot.

The Country That Swallows the Most Diet Pills
CHINA
Thirty-seven percent of the Chinese admit to taking weight-loss pills. Experts say that body consciousness is growing throughout China, and diet pills are seen as a quick and trendy way to achieve the ideal. But these pills can be dangerous—even deadly—because their manufacture is unregulated.
In our survey, women in nearly every country were more inclined than men to report trying a weight-loss aid. (In China, the split is 48-18 percent.) Also quick to turn to pills were Brazil (30 percent of survey respondents), Russia (24 percent), US (19 percent) and Mexico (23 percent).

The Country in Which People Are Most Likely to Ignore Their Doctor
SWITZERLAND
When we asked people around the world for the reasons they’ve tried to lose weight, doctor’s orders were not high on the list. The Swiss gave their physician’s urging the least credence of anyone (just 11 percent cited that as a motivation). Mexicans (46 percent) and the French (39 percent) were most attentive.

The Country Where They’re Still Trying to Puff Off the Pounds
RUSSIA
Smoking to suppress appetite is recognized as a foolish trade-off throughout the world, but the habit persists anyway, particularly in the Philippines, China, Mexico, and, strikingly, Russia. Twenty-three percent of Russian men and 18 percent of women admit to smoking cigarettes in order to lose weight.
Just 5 percent of Americans say they smoke for weight loss.

The Country Most Likely to Blame a Lack of Willpower
THE PHILIPPINES
You have to commend their honesty: A full 95 percent of Filipinos say they enjoy good food, and 82 percent admit to simply not having the willpower to resist it. Indeed, only 38 percent have even tried to lose weight.  Almost half of Americans say food is just plain irresistible. But the Americans are  more apt to blame our weight on lack of exercise (84 percent).

The Country Most Likely to Blame the Parents
RUSSIA
An amazing 70 percent of Russians point to their genes as a major reason they need bigger jeans. Germans (61 percent) and Indians (50 percent) also use this excuse. How the U.S. compares: Twenty percent of Americans blame Mom and Dad.

The Country Most Likely to Blame Americans
FRANCE
Should we be surprised? Probably not, given that French fries–freedom fries exchange a few years ago. More than any other country surveyed, France points to America’s eating habits and fast food as prime culprits in its growing girth.

The Country with the Highest Weight Loss IQ
MEXICO
Almost all Mexicans—93 percent of them—report switching to more healthful food in an attempt to lose their belly. Eighty-six percent have also tried to become more physically active. More than any other country surveyed, Mexico knows the sensible approach to weight loss—even if its citizens don’t always put that knowledge into practice. About 70 percent of Mexican adults are overweight or obese, according to that country’s National Institute for Public Health.

The Country Where Pounds Are Most Likely to Get in the Way of Promotions
INDIA
Sixty-seven percent of Indians say that being overweight can “seriously interfere” with career advancement. That’s at least ten points higher than in any other nation surveyed. In fact, 41 percent of dieters there say they were motivated by a desire to be promotable. And this is one of the few instances where men (52 percent) feel greater pressure to trim down than women (31 percent). The notion that excess pounds can leave you wedged into a dead end in the office is also pervasive in Germany and the Philippines.

The Country Where Overweight Women Struggle Most
UNITED STATES
In most countries, people agree that it’s just plain tough to be overweight, whether you’re male or female, but there were a couple of striking exceptions. Fifty-seven percent of people in China say that being well-padded poses no particular problems for either sex. And in the United States, respondents say that being overweight is harder on women. Almost half of Americans (58 percent of women and 37 percent of men) voiced this opinion.

The Countries Where Being Fat Interferes Most with Your Sex Life
AUSTRALIA AND MEXICO
The majority (52 percent) of people in both of these nations say being fat holds them back from having a good time in the sack. Russia came in close behind, with 51 percent agreeing. Interestingly, Hungarians (15 percent) and the Dutch (18 percent) are least likely to say size makes a difference to their sex lives.
In every country, men were more likely than women to predict amorous woes, with men in Australia, China, and Mexico most inclined to say that pounds created problems in this regard.  – Readers Digest survey