BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Filipino children aged 6–10 yrs are consuming poor quantities and quality of food based on the 2013 Philippine National Nutrition Survey. During these years healthy eating habits must be formed through family influence. Within this background, a complete package of nutrition intervention—feeding and nutrition classes, was pilot tested in selected schools to determine 1) changes in nutrition attitude and behavior and 2) food intake of schoolchildren after the intervention. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A quasi-experimental design was used in the study. School children aged 7–9 yrs enrolled in selected Philippine public elementary schools and their mothers/ caregivers were the study participants. Profile and socio-demographic data were collected from each participant at baseline. The nutrition behavior and food intake of children were determined using the modified Child and Diet Evaluation Tool (CADET) and the 24-h food recall form, respectively. Data were analyzed using Stata version 15. RESULTS: No significant differences in characteristics were found among the 339 childmother pairs in the 4 study groups. The modified CADET recorded improved mean attitude scores of children ranging from 22 to 24 points at endline in the group receiving both lunch feeding and nutrition education classes (group 3). The perceived better behavior of children was reported by their mothers in terms of increased intake of milk and vegetables and decreased consumption of sugar. These improvements were supported by the actual food intake of children obtained from the 24-h food recall. CONCLUSIONS Family involvement, particularly of mothers/caregivers, appeared to be an important factor in shaping the children's eating behavior. An intervention package with lunch feeding and nutrition classes resulted in a substantial improvement in children's behavior and actual food intake with increased levels of vegetables and milk while lowering sugar consumption. The adoption of the intervention package in public elementary schools should therefore be pursued.

Objectives: While food product labelling is deemed important in providing consumer information, little is known about the characteristics of those reading and not reading. This study aimed to determine the socio-demographic characteristics of Filipino adult consumers reading and not reading food product labels and nutrition facts to provide insights on their understanding and usage of food labels that may help in designing better label formats of packaged foods and related health education campaigns. Methods: Cross-sectional design using secondary data from the Expanded National Nutrition Survey (ENNS) 2018- 2019 was employed. A survey form on Reading Food Product Labels and Nutrition Facts in the ENNS 2018-2019 were collected through face-to-face interviews. Descriptive statistics, test of proportions, and logistic regression were done using Stata version 16. Results: Always reading product labels were reported only by 19.6% of adult consumers, 18 years old and above, while 45.9% reported not reading food product labels. Among those who read food product labels, only 16.7% reported reading nutrition facts. Higher proportions of adults reading nutrition facts were found among those who attained a higher educational level, were less than 40 years old, living in urban residences, and belonging to higher wealth status. ‘Not interested’ was the top reason of adults who reported not reading nutrition facts. Conclusion Reading product labels and nutrition facts is not common among Filipino adults. Being not interested was the top reason for not reading food product labels. Older persons, adults with low educational attainment, and belonging to poor households were more likely to not read food product labels and not influenced by nutrition facts which imply the need for a food label format that would cater to those who cannot or have difficulty reading food labels and nutrition facts. An intensified campaign on the importance of reading food product labels is also needed.

Introduction: Consistent with the Sustainable Development Goal 17 highlighting partnership to achieve development, this study demonstrated the convergence among government, industry and academe in carrying out a nutrition intervention to improve the nutritional status, knowledge, attitude and behaviour of school community (school children and mothers). Methods: A school-based intervention study comprising of school lunch feeding and nutrition lessons was conducted. Quasi-experimental design was used in the intervention research. Data were analysed using Stata 12.0. Descriptive statistics were generated using the survey module (svy) of Stata. The food and nutrition intervention mix composed of the governmentpartner School Feeding Programme (SFP) and the nutrition education campaign. The government-partner SFP involved lunch feeding of 7 to 9 years old students based on the standardised Pinggang Pinoy® recipes. The government-partner nutrition education component involved teaching of the developed modules to students and their mothers. Results: The intervention resulted in improvements in nutritional status, knowledge, attitude and behaviour of students. Investing an average of Php 15.00 or USD 0.29 (as of 2017) in a school feeding programme following the government-partner food and nutrition intervention mix improved nutritional status and shifted the number of underweight children to normal nutritional status by 25.3% after 120 feeding days. This intervention was implemented through a multisectoral collaboration during the pre-implementation, implementation, and post-implementation phases of the study. Conclusion: Partnerships among stakeholders provided the context towards healthier children as demonstrated by improved nutritional status, knowledge, attitude and behaviour of participants.

Background: Unhealthy diet, including high consumption of beverages with added sugars, has been attributed to the increasing trend of overweight and obesity. Objectives: This study explored the trend in beverage consumption and estimated the percent energy contribution of beverages to the total energy intake of selected population groups in the Philippines from 2008 to 2019. Methodology: The proportions, mean intakes, and percentile distributions of energy intake from beverages of selected population groups in 2008, 2013, and 2018-2019 used in this study were estimated using the National Nutrition Surveys by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute. Two analyses were done for the energy intake from beverages: (1) beverages excluding milk and dairy products, and (2) all beverages. The energy intake from sugars and syrups was also noted. Results: Results showed that the mean energy intake for beverages increased from 2008 to 2018-2019 for all age groups. The mean contribution of beverages to total energy intake, excluding milk and dairy products, was generally low but increased from 2008 to 2018-2019 with ranges from 2.3-3.7% and 2.8%-5.2%, respectively. However, high beverage consumers or those consuming ≥120 kcal per day, even excluding milk and dairy products, were observed in 6.3% of children 6 months to 5 years, 10.3% of children 6-12 years old, 16.1% of adolescents, 23.5% of adults, and 13.0% of pregnant women in 2018-2019. Conclusion Behavior change communication strategies are needed to prevent obesity and other lifestyle-related diseases, particularly in the population groups with a high consumption of caloric beverages.
Beverages ; Energy Intake ; Obesity