DOH: Shed fat, be active, stay healthy

FILE: A couple and their children bike along the Snake Road, Barangay Salawag, Dasmarinas City, Cavite on Saturday (July 3, 2021). (PNA photo by Gil Calinga)

LEGAZPI CITY – Choose a healthy lifestyle in order to avoid obesity and diseases, the Department of Health-Center for Health Development (DOH-CHD) in Bicol said in a news release on Friday.

Dr. Joy Peña, Catanduanes provincial non-communicable disease prevention and control program coordinator, said excessive fat accumulation presents a health risk.

She offered tips for maintaining a healthy weight such as breastfeeding infants, introducing nutritious food early on, eating slowly and eating only when hungry.

“We also have to limit unhealthy food in the household, incorporate fun and exciting physical activity, limit your child’s screen time, get enough sleep, and know what your child is eating outside the home,” Peña said.

To prevent obesity, DOH-Bicol recommends that adults consume less fatty and sugary foods, eat more servings of vegetables and fruits, eat plenty of dietary fiber, engage in regular physical activity, focus on reducing daily stress, learn how to budget food and prepare meals, and measure servings and control portions.

Different health conditions that can be caused by obesity include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, cancer, sleep apnea, mental illness, and body pain.

The International Diabetes Federation’s 2021 data said of the Philippines’ 66.

7 million adult population, there is 7.5 percent prevalence of diabetes or 4,303,899 cases.

The Philippine Statistics Authority report for 2020 also showed that deaths due to diabetes mellitus in the Philippines ranked fourth at 37,265, after heart diseases (99,680), cancer (62,289), and cerebrovascular diseases (59,736).