ImagineLaw, partners culminate two-day 'Canvas for Change' activity

ImagineLaw and its partner organizations concluded the two-day "Canvas for Change: Envisioning Healthy Families and a Healthy Planet" campaign on Sunday at the Quezon City Memorial Circle, highlighting the need for policies that promote healthier food environments and help curb non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Held as part of the National Nutrition Month celebration, the event advocated for measures regulating the sodium, sugar, and fat content of food served and sold in food establishments to reduce the growing burden of NCDs among Filipinos.

"It is important for Filipinos to have a healthy food environment, and we hope that after Nutrition Month, our advocacies will continue so that we can provide a healthy food environment for all Filipinos," ImagineLaw Project Manager Atty. Mikhail Laurence Millan said in his closing message.

The event was attended by representatives from the Department of Health–National Nutrition Council (NNC), led by Executive Director Dr. Alberto Domingo, and the Quezon City Health Department, represented by Chief Nutritionist Jirah Sideco.

Domingo underscored the importance of Nutrition Month, noting that Filipinos make food choices every day that directly affect their health.

He said the country's nutrition challenges include the persistent prevalence of stunting, brain stunting, and overnutrition across different population groups.

"When we consume too much sugar, salt, and fat, we develop non-communicable diseases," Domingo said in a media interview, explaining that excessive intake of these nutrients contributes to overnutrition and increases the risk of NCDs.

He added that many of these diseases are preventable through healthier diets, particularly by reducing the consumption of salty, sugary, and fatty foods.