The Philippines continues to grapple with a double burden of malnutrition, with 43% of Filipino adults classified as overweight or obese and one in four children affected by stunting.
National Nutrition Council (NNC) Information and Education Division officer-in-charge Jomarie Tongol, citing the latest National Nutrition Survey of the Department of Science and Technology Food and Nutrition Research Institute, said adult overweight and obesity have reached a level of public health significance.
“Obesity is considered a disease, not only a risk factor for diabetes, cardiovascular disease or cancer,” Tongol said in a Radyo Pilipinas interview.
She said unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, inadequate sleep, genetic predisposition and an increasingly “obesogenic food environment” contribute to rising overweight and obesity rates.
The availability of processed food and the convenience of online food delivery have also influenced Filipinos’ eating habits.
Tongol also pointed to inadequate breastfeeding during the first 1,000 days of life as a factor linked to a higher likelihood of children becoming overweight or obese.
She stressed that being overweight does not necessarily mean a child is healthy, as childhood obesity can persist into adulthood and raise the risk of noncommunicable diseases.
Meanwhile, stunting among Filipino children increased to 25.3% in 2025 from 23.6% in 2023, according to the 2025 updating survey of the National Nutrition Survey.
“This means that one out of four Filipino children is affected by stunting,” Tongol said.
Among children aged 0 to 2, however, stunting slightly declined to 21.1% in 2025 from 22.5% in 2023.
The NNC is promoting exclusive breastfeeding, appropriate complementary feeding beginning at 6 months, proper sanitation and adequate nutrition for pregnant women and young children.
It also provides technical support for dietary supplementation and feeding programs targeting children and nutritionally at-risk pregnant women.
Tongol urged families to use available government nutrition services and adopt healthier habits, including eating balanced meals, limiting salty, oily, fatty and sugary food, staying physically active and getting enough rest and sleep.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images
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