Philippine lawmaker raises alarm over obesity as study shows 41% of adults overweight

A Philippine lawmaker on Monday sounded the alarm over the country’s rising obesity problem, following a recent study that found about 41% of the 72 million Filipino adults — translating to 29.5 million people — are classified as overweight or obese.

“Forty-one percent is very alarming. I was surprised because I never expected it to be that high,” Janette L. Garin, Deputy Speaker and representative of Iloilo’s 1st district, said in reaction to the findings of the Epidemiological Burden and Cost of Obesity in the Philippines (EpiCOb-PH) study, which was also released on the same day during a multi-sectoral forum.

The study was led by Dr. Madeleine de Rosas-Valera and funded by Novo Nordisk Pharmaceutical (Philippines) Inc. It also found that more than four in 10 Filipino adults are already at increased risk of obesity-related health problems.

Ms. Garin said the findings of the study “are a sound of alarm and a red flag for our country,” noting that Filipinos currently face high out-of-pocket healthcare expenses, while public healthcare spending is largely directed toward curative care rather than preventive care.

The Iloilo representative said it is timely for the government to work together and address the problem of obesity by providing the right information down to schools and communities.

Ms. Garin committed to pushing for programs and budget allocations for health to curb the number of obese Filipinos to about 10% from 41%, noting that such a persistently high figure would be “a bad legacy for the country.”

Meanwhile, she told BusinessWorld that she is looking into including lessons about misleading marketing of food that contributes to obesity in the school curriculum. Ms. Garin said she will pursue this through legislation or through the lower house’s oversight powers.

“Pwede siyang ipasok sa curriculum. We have to start orienting the parents and teachers kasi doon magsisimula. We have to let them know what they are feeding or what they are eating [It can be included in the curriculum. We have to start orienting parents and teachers because that is where it begins. We have to let them know what they are feeding their children or what they themselves are eating],” Ms. Garin said on the sidelines of the presentation of the EpiCOb-PH study.

On the recent push to amend the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law to raise taxes on sweetened beverages and include previously exempted sweetened and flavored milk, Ms. Garin said discussions on taxation are difficult to pursue amid ongoing global economic challenges.

“Napaka-mahirap na tumbukin natin ang taxes especially when it relates to food [It is very difficult to directly raise taxes, especially when it relates to food],” Ms. Garin said.

“Maybe we can discuss about taxation in the future kasi para ngayon, if we talk about that baka mamaya, mas malaking impact sa ekonomiya [Maybe we can discuss taxation the future, because for now, if we talk about that, it might have a bigger impact on the economy later],” she added.

The representative also said the lower house could explore other ways to curb obesity, such as imposing penalties on unhealthy foods and making measures to increase public awareness of foods that contribute to obesity.

The EpiCOb-PH study was conducted to address the gap in research on obesity’s demographic distribution and economic burden in the country. It used a modeling approach that combined multiple national data sources.

Researchers used data from the National Nutrition Survey and the Expanded National Nutrition Survey from 1993 to 2023 to estimate obesity’s current and future trends, as well as its health impacts.

TRILLION-PESO COST OF OBESITY

The EpiCOb-PH study also found that obesity is estimated to have cost the Philippines around P1.9 trillion in 2025, equivalent to 7.3% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) that year. The cost could rise to as much as P2.7 trillion if overweight-related expenses are also included.

Of the total cost, P551 billion was attributed to healthcare expenses, which could reach P790 billion when overweight cases are included.

These cover direct medical costs such as hospital confinement, based on normative estimates assuming patients are diagnosed and treated according to medical guidelines.

Non-medical costs were also taken into account, reaching P165.39 billion, including expenses such as transportation.

Productivity losses, including workdays missed due to obesity-related conditions, were estimated at P1.17 trillion.

The cost of obesity was computed through a specialized cost-of-illness model that integrated findings from a previous epidemiological burden study, Dr. John Paul Caesar delos Trinos, chief scientific officer and principal at metaHealth Insights and Innovations Inc., a consulting agency that organized the forum, said.

The analysis was also supported by secondary data, including published literature, online resources, and consultations with experts.

To curb the economic cost of obesity, Mr. delos Trinos said that food warning labels could be improved to indicate high levels of obesity-inducing ingredients such as fat, sugar, and salt.

Meanwhile, he urged the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to include obesity in its primary care package, YAKAP.

For government offices and workplaces, he also suggested incorporating wellness initiatives for employees.

“This cannot be addressed by one institution or one sector alone. It cannot just be researchers conducting studies, publishing them, and then calling it a day. This will really require collaboration between different sectors,” Mr. delos Trinos said during his presentation in mixed English and Filipino. — Edg Adrian A. Eva