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http://www.philstar.com/health-and-family/2012/12/11/884470/malnutrition-growingconcern-among-filipino-school-children
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The tale of the scale: The word malnutrition is generally associated with frail, skinny, and hunger-stricken
bodies. However, health experts time and again point out that this is not necessarily the case. In fact, a person
may appear outwardly normal and fit but is actually malnourished.
MANILA, Philippines - The word malnutrition is generally associated with frail, skinny, and hunger-stricken
bodies. However, health experts time and again point out that this is not necessarily the case. In fact, a person
may appear outwardly normal and fit but is actually malnourished.
Part of understanding malnutrition is to know that it manifests itself in two types, namely undernutrition and
overnutrition.
Undernutrition occurs when insufficient nutrients are absorbed by the body. These nutrients can be
carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals. Children suffering from undernutrition miss out on the
vital nutrients that are needed not only to grow but also to build up immunity against diseases.
In its latest study, the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) revealed that almost one in every three
Filipino children aged six to 10 is underweight and underheight or stunted for their age. The prevalence was
highest among those nine to 10 years old, all as a result of undernourishment.
Overnutrition, meanwhile, is the condition in which nutrients are oversupplied in a way more than the body is
capable of absorbing. It could result either in obesity or imbalances in specific nutrients caused by excessive
intake of dietary supplements or various fad diets.
Eight out of a hundred schoolchildren, aged five to 10, are overweight, based on the same FNRI data. In
2011, the percentage of overweight children in this same group jumped to 7.5 percent from 6.6 percent in
2008.