Kids’ poor school showing caused by low vegetable intake Charles E. Buban Inquirer
June 16, 2007
MANILA, Philippines -- Our mother was OUR right all along. We really should eat our vegetables.
While a lot of us may have probably squirmed or protested whenever she serves us dishes with ampalaya, okra or squash dish, science these days is reaffirming why this much-maligned mother’s advice should be followed.
Results from the 6th National Nutrition Surveys conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute show that an average Filipino child, aged 6 months to 5 years, consumes only 23 grams of vegetables a day or half of the recommended daily amount.
Such poor diet is now being attributed to the sub par performance of more than 1.5 million public school sixth graders who took the recent national achievement test conducted by the Department of Education.
Poor scores
The DepEd reported that these sixth graders scored poorly in Math (53.66 percent), English (46.77 percent), as well as Science (54.05 percent).
Another trend noted was the four percent drop in the correctly answered items, from 58.73 percent in school year 2004-2005 to 54.66 percent in SY 2005-2006.
The NAT is designed to assess the abilities and skills of Grade 6 pupils in five subject areas: English, Filipino, Science, Hekasi (Heograpiya, Kasaysayan at Sibika) and Mathematics.
According to Dr. Mario Villasaya Capanzana, director of the FNRI-Department of Science and Technology, these schoolchildren are not necessarily dumb or suffering from any learning disorders but rather, they may be just easily exhausted, inattentive, can’t concentrate, or lethargic in class.
Not enough supply
For Dr. Jose Chuaunsu, consultant at the Manila Doctors Hospital Department of Pediatrics, these could also be signs that these schoolchildren are not getting enough supply of two of the most important micronutrients found in vegetables -- Vitamin A and Iron -- that may result in Vitamin A deficiency and iron deficiency anemia.
According to the World Health Organization, micronutrients are called as such because they are needed only in minuscule amounts. However, the consequences of their absence are severe because they act as “magic wands” that enable the body to produce enzymes, hormones and other substances essential for proper growth and development.
For example, the lack of vitamin A in children could result in visual impairment and even blindness. Having such condition also diminishes a child’s ability to fight infections.
Similarly, the lack of iron in children contributes to short attention span, apathy, irritability, decreased physical activity, impaired cognitive development and even the inability to absorb Vitamin A properly.
Easily remedied
According to Capanzana, the problem, though serious, is easily remedied by simply encouraging children to eat more vegetables as well as fruits and root crops that should correct their micronutrient deficiencies.
“In fact, one cup or 90 grams of vegetables like ampalaya, okra and squash (at least half a serving or 45 grams for children below 6) can go a long way toward ensuring better health as well as improving micronutrient intake,” he assured.
Chuaunsu added that parents should feed their children what they need and not what their children would most likely prefer (sweets, processed food or those so-called empty-calorie food like potato chips, soft drinks, deep-fried foods).
Urge vegetable eating
In fact, the doctor together with Capanzana has recently coordinated with Unilever Philippines when the company launched an advocacy to encourage vegetable eating.
The advocacy titled “Makulay ang Buhay sa Sinabawang Gulay” by Unilever Knorr teaches household how to prepare different vegetable dishes that would appeal to children’s palates.
“Parents must be role models by exposing their children to vegetables early on. They could prepare a simple broth of beans, potatoes, corn, legumes and other green and leafy vegetables. While these vegetables will help their children later on in life fight diseases like diabetes and cancer, they will also help build up their immune system, help their brain develop fully as well as improve their learning skills,” Chuaunsu reminded.
