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Among the 17 regions in the Philippines, the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) had the least number of underweight children in the country in 2008 at 19.9 percent among pre-school children (0-5 years old) and 14.5 percent for school children (6-10 years old),based on the results of the 7th National Nutrition Survey (NNS). Both figures are lower than the national underweight prevalence rate for pre-schoolers of 26.2 percent and for school children of 25.6 percent.
The survey, conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (FNRI-DOST), also showed that the proportion of stunted school children in CAR at 29.4 percent was lower than the national average of 33.1 percent. On the other hand, the proportion of underheight or stunted pre-schoolers in CAR of 29.5 percent was higher than the national average of 27.9 percent.
| PROPORTION OF UNDERNOURISHED CHILDREN ALL REGIONS, 2008 (In Percent) |
||||
| Area | Pre-Schoolers | |||
| Under Weight |
Stunted | Under Wiehgt |
Stunted | |
| Philippines | 26.2 | 27.9 | 25.6 | 33.1 |
| NCR | 20.7 | 20.1td> | 20.0 | 23.1 |
| CAR | 19.9 | 29.5 | 14.5 | 29.4 |
| Ilocos | 26.1 | 23.9 | 23.6 | 28.4 |
| Cagayan Valley | 23.9 | 24.3 | 19.2 | 26.9 |
| Central Luzon | 20.2 | 18.9 | 18.1 | 23.0 |
| Calabarzon | 21.5 | 21.3 | 23.9 | 27.6 |
| Mimaropa | 33.1 | 31.6 | 33.0 | 34.0 |
| Bicol | 33.8 | 33.6 | 34.0 | 39.2 |
| Western VIsayas | 31.9 | 33.6 | 32.2 | 37.8 |
| Central Visayas | 25.8 | 31.1 | 24.7 | 35.1 |
| Easter Visayas | 32.1 | 37.6 | 31.6 | 44.7 |
| Zamboanga Peninsula | 33.3 | 37.9 | 30.6 | 42.7 |
| Northern Mindanao | 26.0 | 32.3 | 27.2 | 40.4 |
| Davao Region | 26.3 | 31.6 | 26.2 | 38.1 |
| SOCCSKSARGEN | 30.5 | 34.1 | 27.8 | 40.1 |
| CARAGA | 28.8 | 31.6 | 25.6 | 36.9 |
| ARMM | 28.8 | 34.7 | 26.9 | 38.1 |
| Notes: Pre-schoolers are children 5 years old and below. | ||||
| School children are from ages 6-10 years old. | ||||
Basic Nutrition Terms
Underweight - a condition where the child’s weight is lower than that of a normal person of the same age and is measured using weight-for-age as the index
Underheight or Stunted - a condition where the child’s height is lower than that of a normal person of the same age and is measured using height-for-age as the index
Undernutrition- an abnormal state resulting from the consumption of an inadequate quantity of food over an extended period of time
SOURCE: PSA Resolution No.10, series of 2008 approved on June 11,2008