Expert recommends ban on sale of harmful food products in schools

As cases of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Filipino children rise, a health expert from the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday recommended banning the sale of harmful food products in school.

According to a 2021 Expanded National Nutrition Survey of the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute, the prevalence of overweight and obesity among school children aged five to 10 is 14 percent.

Globally, about 390 million children are obese, according to WHO.

During a WHO-hosted media conference in Manila, Joana Madureira Lima, Health-Enabling Society, Division of Healthy Environments and Populations of the WHO Pacific Regional Office, pressed the need to ban, market, or sell harmful food products in schools.

Lima recalled that when she went to high school, there was only one cafeteria and there was very limited food.

"There were often chips and then beef patties. No vegetables, no fruits were sold. So what I've seen countries do is that they've imposed legislation or they've sort of managed the legislation where schools are not allowed to sell to their students soda, very sugary beverages, chips, french fries, things like that," she noted.

"And so, when the child goes to the school cafeteria, they can only choose between healthy options," she added.

She also stressed the need to establish school meals programs.

"[So that children] have access to proper food regularly while they are in school, but also that they have access to healthy food and that they don't drink soda, but they rather drink water and things like that," Lima said.

The WHO official also recommended starting community gardens in schools.

"In the Philippines, I've seen a lot of gardens in schools where students get involved in making their own vegetables or gardening their own vegetables," she continued.

"So those are some of the examples of practices that schools can take to ensure healthy eating habits in schools," she added.

The Department of Education established in 2022 the Enhanced Gulayan sa Paaralan Program (EGPP), one of its initiatives to promote and raise awareness to address food insecurity in the country.

Under the program, each school shall allot at least 200 square meters for the establishment of a vegetable garden, while schools with limited area may use alternative gardening methods such as container gardening, inground gardening, raised bed gardening, vertical gardening, hydroponic gardening, aquaponic gardening, square foot gardening, upside-down gardening, and hanging gardening, among others.

A variety of indigenous vegetables which are rich in protein such as alugbati (Malabar spinach), kalabasa (squash), malunggay (horseradish), sitaw (beans), and upon (bottle gourd), are planted.

Sixty percent of harvested product from the initiative shall be utilized in the school feeding program, while the remaining 40 percent may be sold in the community or market as part of the income-generating project of the school.