Instant Noodles Republic

Hunger incidence in the Philippines fell to 13.5 percent last March from the 17.2 percent recorded in December of 2014, according to a recent survey. That 13.5 percent translates roughly to over three million Filipinos going hungry at least once in the last three months.

But that claimed decline in hunger incidence is really nothing to crow about. In fact, it may mask the high incidence of under-nutrition which the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) describes as a very serious problem in the Philippines.

Under-nutrition occurs when the body is not given the nutrients that it needs (vitamins, minerals, proteins, calories) to function properly. In short, it’s not enough to just eat instant noodles as many poor Filipinos do to stave off hunger.

Among Filipino children, UNICEF avers that 3.6 million aged 0-59 months are undernourished and thus underweight, while four millions more have stunted growth due to lack of access to a balanced diet.

“The damage to health, physical growth and brain development of children affected by chronice under-nutrition – stunting in the first two years – is often irreversible, impairing them for life and leaving them with lower chances of finishing school and becoming highly productive adults,” says UNICEF.

Staving off hunger is far more easy than addressing the crippling problem of malnutrition in the country. True. As many poor Filipinos say, “laman tiyan din iyan” in referring to nutrient-empty food. At the rate we are going, we just as well be called the Instant Noodles Republic.

As malnutrition results to low IQ (intelligence quotient) according to scientists, future generations of Filipinos may have noodles for brains. -end-

image by rappler