Lived food environment of

children and adolescents

in Zamboanga, Samar,
and Valenzuela City and
their influence on diets

World Obesity Day

04 March 2022
 OUTLINE OF THE PRESENTATION

● Objectives
● Methods
● Study sites
● Child Profiles
● Key Points
● Recommendations
OBJECTIVES
This study was undertaken primarily to determine how the food environment
influences the diets of children (6 months to 18 years of age in the context of their
lived realities, and to obtain a greater understanding of the children’s dietary
practices.

Specifically, it aimed to:

1. Describe the usual daily routines of what and when the
children eat;
2. Determine the influences of food environments (food
pricing, food insecurity, and food marketing) and general
health to children’s dietary practices; and
3. Identify the current influence of COVID-19 pandemic to
children’s dietary practices.
 DATA COLLECTION METHOD, STUDY SITES, AND
SUMMARY OF RESPONDENTS

Study Valenzuela Zamboanga Catbalogan Gandara, Mondragon, Godod,

Approach City City City Samar Samar ZDN

In-Depth 15 4 4 4 4 4
Interview

Focus Group - 12 12 16 12 12
Discussion

Observation - 1 1 1 1 1
DATA ANALYSIS

● Audio recordings were transcribed and translated to English

● English translated transcripts were analyzed using NVivo (v1.4.1)

CHILD PROFILES
CATBALOGAN CITY, SAMAR

After supper, I watch TV with my family. We do not eat midnight

I wake up between 6 to 7AM. I make
my bed then buy food for our
breakfast (pandesal, egg, or dried fish).
I do not complain and I just eat whatever is prepared by
my mother. Our usual food every morning is bread, rice,
egg, or dried fish because those are affordable. I also
prepare milk or coffee, if available. Sometimes, we eat
leftovers from the night before. We also watch TV
while eating breakfast.
After eating, I usually watch TV or answer my
modules. After some time, I go outside to our front
yard to play with my friends or my younger sibling.
At around 10 or 11 AM, I take a bath.
snacks because we do not have snacks stocked in our house. We
can not afford to stock foods nowadays. I usually sleep at around
10 or 11 PM.
If the leftover dish from lunch is not enough for our supper, my mother
just cooks instant noodles or canned goods bought from the nearest
store. I like eating dinner with my family because we always have fun
random conversations together. We also watch TV while eating.
After lunch I continue watching TV. I find TV commercials very
amusing and sometimes I get curious about the food products I
see. So every time I have a chance to buy from a store, I buy
what I remember in the TV commercials. At around 1 or 2 PM,
I usually take a nap. After my nap, I continue working on my
modules. Sometimes, I go to the nearest store to buy my
snacks. I usually buy a small pack of “chichirya” (chips) or
biscuits because they are cheap (Php 1.00 or $0.02/pack). If I
still have money, I also buy soft drinks or packed fruit juice.
After eating my snacks, I continue with my modules and
sometimes I play with my friends.

I eat lunch with my family at around 12 NN while watching TV. We usually eat fish for lunch. We also have our own
small vegetable garden so my mother sometimes harvests vegetables and cooks them. I really do not like eating
vegetables even if I know that they are good for my health. However, I have no choice because that was what our
mother prepared.
KEY POINTS (children 6 to 10 years old)
● The caregivers of children 6 to 10 years old were the primary decision
maker on meal preparation. Convenience, affordability and knowledge
affect the decision of the caregivers.
● Children refuse to eat food they do not like and will express their personal
food preferences.
● Young children were not fond of eating vegetables or will have specific
vegetable preferences.
● Encouraging words from family members and eating with family and friends
helps children finish their meals.
● Purchase of ready-to-eat home-cooked meals was common in Valenzuela
City and Zamboanga City.
● In rural areas, children ate snacks bread or biscuits) in the morning and in
the afternoon but in highly urbanized cities, snacks were usually consumed
only in the afternoon.
KEY POINTS (children 6 to 10 years old)
● For some, soft drinks and snack foods are viewed as luxury or rewards since parents
usually bribe their children with these kinds of foods/drinks. Sometimes, having such
foods/drinks also signifies celebration.
● Some families were beneficiaries of social support programs of the government.
Programs including children as beneficiaries include supplementary feeding, cash
assistance, and food packages.

External Factors
● Prices of food products (rural > urban)
● Accessibility of food stores (urban > rural)
● Marketing/advertisements of unhealthy (HFSS) food products
 After dinner I do some of my schoolworks while watching TV with my
family. I see different TV commercials and I remember some of them. I
usually sleep between 10 to 12 MN.
I wake up between 6 to 7AM, just in time for online
VALENZUELA CITY
class.
I eat my breakfast before my online class between
7:00 to 7:30 AM. My mom buys bread (pandesal)
from the bakery just a few minutes away from our
house every morning. She also buys my 8-month-old
sister rice porridge from the nearby eatery because it
is cheaper and she does not have time to cook for us
because she has to go to work. Sometimes, we also
eat eggs, hotdog, leftover food from the night before,
and rice in the morning if my mom does not have
work.
I always spend my whole morning attending to my online
classes. I do not eat any morning snacks because I am
busy with my classes and I still feel full. I am also not
allowed to go outside and buy snacks because of the strict
protocols here in our area. I also do not have time to help
with heavy household chores because of my classes so I
just help with the light chores like washing the dishes,
cooking rice, and the like. But every break time, I usually
watch TV.
My mother, and sometimes my father, cooks our dinner. She
usually cooks chicken or fish dishes. I often request fried food
because it is my favorite, especially chicken or pork. Although
pork is expensive nowadays, my mother still manages to buy a
small amount of pork once in a while. She also cooks
vegetable dishes occasionally but my younger sister and I
seldom eat it. Sometimes if our food is vegetable, I just fry a
hotdog or egg for myself. My mom also buys fruits like apples
and bananas because she believes that it is good for our
health especially now during the pandemic.
After eating, I wash the dishes and then rest for a while. I
watch TV while using my mobile phone to browse my
social media accounts. At 1 PM, I resume my online class
until 3 PM. After class, I usually take a nap for about an
hour then eat snacks like biscuits or bread bought by my
mother outside. After eating my snacks, I usually play
online games on my cell phone or browse through social
media platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.
I eat lunch with my mother and siblings at around 12
NN while watching TV. We usually eat ready-prepared
foods my father bought from the nearby eatery. My
parents prefer buying food outside because it is
cheaper, more convenient, and there are a lot of
choices. I really do not like eating vegetables even if I
know that they are good for my health. Everytime my
mom cooks or buys vegetables, she makes sure to also
add a non-vegetable dish for me and my younger sister.
KEY POINTS (adolescents 11 to 18 years old)
● Caregivers decide on what food to prepare and adolescents just
eat these. However, if older adolescents do not like the food
prepared, they usually cook instant noodles, eggs, or processed
meat products, or buy other foods.
● The older adolescents exhibit more independence and tend to
follow personal preferences.
● Purchase of ready-to-eat home-cooked meals was usual in
Valenzuela City and Zamboanga City.
● Food stores providing delivery services were common in
Valenzuela City thus making various foods more accessible.
● Adolescents do not usually eat morning snacks but snacking in the
afternoon is common.
KEY POINTS (adolescents 11 to 18 years old)
● Consumption of soft drinks, snack foods, and other high sugary foods (pre-
packaged or home-prepared) were common particularly when outside with
friends.
● There was awareness that vegetables and fruits were good and healthy
choices and that “junk foods” like chips and soft drinks were not, but
“unhealthy” foods were bought because they tasted good, were well
advertised, and enjoyable to eat with friends and family.
● Although adolescents enjoyed eating with family and are grateful for the
food they still aspire to try other foods, such as meat products, chocolates,
and biscuits seen advertised in the internet and in television.
● There were adolescents who skipped meals because of playing
mobile/online games. Others skipped breakfast due to waking up late
because they slept late to work on school modules.
 KEY POINTS (adolescents 11 to 18 years old)
External Factors

● Prices of food products

● Accessibility of food stores
● Marketing/advertisements of unhealthy food products
 INFLUENCE OF COVID19 PANDEMIC

VEGETABLES

FISH
INSTANT
FOODS
RICE

TYPICAL
RICE
DIET CANNED
FOODS
RECOMMENDATIONS
● Nutrition education and SBCC programs targeting family
● Regulation of food advertising in media (traditional and digital)
● Breastfeeding promotion and banning of advertising foods
targeting young children
● Strengthen role of retail stores in accessing healthy food
choices. Provide direct incentives for selling healthier foods
● Invest in supply chains that can make fruit more affordable
● Revisit the contents of government food packs; how to make
them nutritionally adequate and adapted to the needs of the
target population
THANK YOU!
Do you have any questions?

Mary Christine Castro, MD, MSc

Executive Director
Nutrition Center of the Philippines
mccastro@ncp.org.ph
www.ncp.org.ph