The Healthy Philippines Alliance (HPA), a network of organizations fighting to prevent and control noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), on Wednesday aired support for National Nutrition Council (NNC)’s initiative to develop a Philippine Nutrient Profile Model patterned after the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Model based on the World Health Organization (WHO) standards.

“The Alliance lauds the NNC for proposing to adopt a Philippine Nutrient Profile Model which includes the salient features of the PAHO Model that is considered global best practice,” Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan, convenor of the HPA and Board Member of Health Justice, said.

“When this is successfully implemented in the country soon, we will be setting a standard in the ASEAN region for food regulation. We want to ensure that the government performs its duty to prioritize public health and uphold the right to health of Filipinos,” Tan added.

Meanwhile, Dr. Ma. Victoria Raquiza, co-convenor of Social Watch Philippines, said the passage of the Philippine Nutrient Profile Model “is crucial to help us in our battle to curb NCD prevalence in the country.”

The HPA stressed that the Philippine Nutrient Profile Model is a major policy tool to effectively reduce NCD prevalence.

According to HPA, it it seen to provide a science-based mechanism to define the limits of critical nutrients or ingredients specifically sugar, non-sugar sweeteners, sodium, total fats, saturated fats, and trans fats, contained in processed and ultra-processed food and beverage products—the excessive consumption of which are linked to obesity and NCDs like diabetes, cancer, heart and kidney disease.

It furthered that the Philippine Nutrient Profile Model will be a vital tool and basis for other food regulatory policies, like food marketing, taxation, reformulation and imposing front-of-package warning labels or food warning labels.

HPA pointed out that food warning labels will warn against unhealthy foods and drinks with high amounts sugar, sodium, or fats harmful to health, and thus promote healthier diets among Filipinos, especially children.

According to UNICEF, about four 4 in 10 Filipino adults are overweight and obese.

If this remains unaddressed, the HPA noted, it is feared the numbers may continue to rise where more than 30 percent of Filipino adolescents are projected to be overweight and obese by 2030.