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LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte, Philippines — The Ilocos region has seen a decrease in stunting prevalence among children below 5 years old in the past two years.
Data from the National Nutrition Council (NNC) released on July 22 showed that stunting prevalence among children in Ilocos dropped to 4.21 percent in 2021 from 4.86 percent in the previous year.
Stunting means children become smaller in height compared with healthier children of the same age primarily because of poor nutrition.
The regional NNC said the decline in the prevalence of this nutrition issue in the age group was due to the health and nutrition intervention provided by the government.
The same data also showed that underweight and severely underweight in the same age group also decreased to 2.51 percent from 2.68 percent.
—JOHN MICHAEL MUGAS
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