EXPANDED NATIONAL NUTRITION SURVEY: 2019 RESULTS

NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF FILIPINO PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

 Nutritional Status
of Filipino Preschool Children
Trends in the prevalence of malnutrition among children under-five years old
(0-59 months): Philippines, 2013-2019
40
33.8 32.9 33.7 33.4
35 32.2
30.3 30.3
28.8
30
Percentage (%)

25 21.5
20.7 20.0 20.0 20.2 20.0 19.1 19.0
20

15

10 7.3 8.0 7.1

6.1 5.8 6.0 5.6 5.8
5
1.9
4.3 5.1 3.9 4.0 2.9
0 2.9 3.5
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Underweight Stunting Wasting Overweight-for-Height

 Prevalence of underweight among children under-five years old
(0-59 months) by age groups: Philippines, 2018-2019
40
2018

High
Very
2019
30
Percentage (%)

High
21.5 21.6 21.5 21.9 22.3
19.1 19.0 20.1
20 18.8 18.6

Med.
13.2
11.1
10 8.7
7.3

Low
0
0-59m 0-5m 6-11m 12-23m 24-35m 36-47m 48-59m
95% LL 17.2 17.7 6.3 5.7 11.7 9.6 16.4 16.3 17.6 19.5 18.6 18.3 19.6 19.9
CI
UL 21.2 20.3 11.9 9.3 14.8 12.9 21.5 21.0 22.9 23.6 24.8 25.1 24.3 25.0
Prevalence of underweight among children under-five years old
(0-59 months): Philippines, 2019
50

Sex Place of Wealth Status

40 Residence
Percentage (%)

30 27.3

20.2 21.4
19.0 18.6 19.4
20 17.1 17.1
12.9
10 7.4

0
All Boy Girl Rural Urban Poorest Poor Middle Rich Richest

95% LL 17.7 17.0 17.2 18.5 15.4 23.6 18.5 15.2 11.2 5.9
CI UL 20.3 20.3 21.9 22.1 18.8 31.5 24.5 19.1 14.8 9.2
 Prevalence of stunting among children under-five years old
(0-59 months) by age groups: Philippines 2018-2019
50
2018

High
Very
2019
40 36.6
35.1 34.4

High
33.8
32.5
Percentage (%)

30.9 31.5
30.3 30.2
30 28.8

Med.
20
15.5 14.4
11.5 10.9

Low
10

0
0-59m 0-5m 6-11m 12-23m 24-35m 36-47m 48-59m
95% LL 27.3 25.7 8.7 9.4 12.4 11.4 31.3 28.3 31.2 30.6 28.9 28.8 28.5 27.0
CI
UL 33.4 32.1 15.2 12.6 19.1 18.1 42.2 33.7 39.3 38.4 39.0 36.4 31.9 36.4
 Prevalence of stunting among children under-five years old
(0-59 months): Philippines, 2019
50 Place of
Sex Wealth Status
Residence 42.4
40
32.4
29.5 30.4
Percentage (%)

30 28.8 28.1
26.4 25.6

20 18.5

11.4
10

0
All Boy Girl Rural Urban Poorest Poor Middle Rich Richest
95% LL 25.7 25.9 25.2 26.9 22.4 39.4 30.0 21.2 17.1 10.0
CI UL 32.1 33.3 31.2 34.2 30.8 45.4 34.8 30.6 19.9 13.0
 Prevalence of wasting among children under-five years old
(0-59 months) by single age groups: Philippines, 2018 - 2019
20

Serious Critical
2018
2019
15
Percentage (%)

10 8.6 8.5
7.7

Poor
7.2
6.4 6.5
5.6 5.8 5.0 5.2 5.0 5.1
4.9
5 4.1

Acceptable
0
0-59m 0-5m 6-11m 12-23m 24-35m 36-47m 48-59m
95% LL 5.0 4.9 7.0 6.3 5.3 4.8 5.2 5.1 3.8 4.2 3.5 3.5 3.8 4.1
CI
UL 6.4 6.8 10.5 9.5 13.4 10.7 7.8 8.2 6.7 6.5 4.9 6.9 6.6 6.5
 Prevalence of wasting among children under-five years old
(0-59 months): Philippines, 2019
20

15 Place of
Sex Wealth Status
Residence
Percentage (%)

10
7.6
5.8 6.3 5.8 5.7 5.8
5.2 5.1 4.9
5 3.7

0
All Boy Girl Rural Urban Poorest Poor Middle Rich Richest
95% LL 4.9 5.4 4.3 4.9 4.6 6.4 3.9 4.2 3.8 2.6
CI UL 6.8 7.4 6.3 6.9 7.0 9.0 8.5 6.2 6.4 5.4
Prevalence of overweight-for-height among children under-five years old
(0-59 months) by single age groups: Philippines, 2018-2019
20
2018
2019
15
Percentage (%)

10

5.2 5.0 4.8

5 4.0 4.1
2.9 2.9 2.9 3.4 3.4
2.4 2.3 2.7
1.6

0
0-59m 0-5m 6-11m 12-23m 24-35m 36-47m 48-59m
95% LL 3.5 2.1 4.0 2.7 1.5 0.8 1.9 1.5 2.2 2.2 4.2 2.3 3.8 1.3
CI
UL 4.5 4.0 6.8 6.3 3.8 3.3 4.6 3.7 3.9 5.2 6.0 4.9 6.2 5.5
Prevalence of overweight-for-height among children under-five years old
(0-59 months): Philippines, 2019
20

15 Place of
Sex Wealth Status
Residence
Percentage (%)

10
8.0

5.0
5
3.3 3.9
2.9 2.5 2.3 2.3
1.0 1.5
0
All Boy Girl Rural Urban Poorest Poor Middle Rich Richest
95% LL 2.1 2.4 1.8 1.7 2.6 0.4 1.1 1.5 3.6 5.1
CI UL 4.0 4.7 3.4 3.1 5.9 2.2 2.2 3.3 7.0 12.2
in preschool-age
children
 Prevalence of anemia among children
6mos to 5 years old: Philippines, 2018-2019

50 48.2

High
40 38.0
2018
Percentage (%)

Moderate
30 2019

20
14.3
12.5 12.0 11.0
10

Low
0
6m to 5y 6m to < 1y 1y to 5y
LL 12.3 11.0 40.0 27.0 10.0 9.5
95% CI
UL 16.7 14.2 56.4 50.4 14.2 12.7
 Prevalence of anemia among children 6 mos to 5 years old:
Philippines, 2019
20 Place of
Sex Wealth Status
Residence

15 14.3
13.4 13.6
12.5 12.6 12.5 12.0
11.9
11.1
Percentage (%)

10

5.9
5

0
All Boy Girl Rural Urban Poorest Poor Middle Rich Richest
95% LL 11.0 10.4 10.1 11.5 9.1 12.6 11.4 8.1 8.1 2.8
CI
UL 14.2 15.0 15.3 15.5 13.5 16.2 16.2 17.1 17.6 12.3
Summary
• Underweight remains at 19% with “medium” severity based on global
cut-off for public health significance.
• Stunting prevalence decreased by 1.5 percentage-point but remains as
“medium to high” public health problem.
• Wasting prevalence within the “acceptable to poor” public health
significance.
• Overweight and obesity indicated slow improvement with slightly
decreased prevalence.
• Anemia decreased but remains a “moderate” public health problem.
Summary
• Undernutrition remains prevalent among those residing in rural areas
and belonging to poor and poorest households
• In general, nutritional status of preschool-age children has improved
(as indicated by the downward trends), but this is too slow to meet
development goals.
 Nutritional Status
of Filipino School-Age Children
Trends in the prevalence of malnutrition among school age children
5-10 years old : Philippines, 2013-2019
50

40 36.4
34.2 34.0
31.9 31.2
29.9
Percentage (%)

30
31.9 32.3 31.9 24.6 25.2
30.9 31.1
28.8
20 24.9 26.0

8.5 8.5 8.3 11.6

7.3 8.0 8.0
10 6.3

6.8 6.6 7.4 9.0 8.5 7.6 9.1

0 5.7
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Underweight Stunting Wasting Overweight/Obese

 Prevalence of underweight among school-age children,
5-10 years old by single age groups: Philippines, 2018-2019
50
2018

40
2019
Percentage (%)

30 27.5
24.9 26.0 25.4
27.0 25.8 25.8 27.2 25.5
23.1 23.3 23.8

20

10

0
5-10y 5-<6 y 6-<7 y 7-<8 y 8-<9 y 9-10 y
95% LL 22.3 23.2 21.0 22.6 20.3 19.7 23.7 22.5 22.9 22.8 22.4 25.1
CI
UL 27.8 28.9 25.3 28.4 26.7 28.4 30.5 29.3 28.8 32.0 28.9 30.1
 Prevalence of underweight among school age children
5-10 years old : Philippines, 2019
50

Sex Place of Wealth Status

40 Residence 38.2

29.0
Percentage (%)

30 28.1 27.5
26.0 24.6
23.8 23.6
20 16.8

9.2
10

0
All Boy Girl Rural Urban Poorest Poor Middle Rich Richest
95% LL 23.2 24.9 21.2 24.5 20.2 35.3 27.2 22.3 14.4 6.7
CI UL 28.9 31.5 26.5 30.6 27.2 41.1 30.9 27.1 19.6 12.5
 Prevalence of stunting among school age children
5-10 years old by age groups: Philippines, 2018-2019
50
2018
2019
40
Percentage (%)

30 26.7 28.1
24.6 25.2 24.3 24.5 24.7 24.5 25.5
23.8 23.4 23.8

20

10

0
5y to 10y 5y to <6y 6y to <7y 7y to <8y 8y to <9y 9y to 10y

95% LL 22.0 21.1 24.5 24.7 20.3 20.7 22.0 18.9 20.7 20.3 20.8 19.8
CI
UL 27.4 29.7 29.0 31.8 27.8 28.2 27.1 28.6 27.1 29.6 28.7 32.3
 Prevalence of stunting among school age children
5-10 years old: Philippines, 2019
50

Sex Place of Wealth Status*

39.7
40 Residence

28.8
Percentage (%)

30 26.5 26.6
25.2
23.7 22.9 21.7
20
14.1

10 8.8

0
All Boy Girl Rural Urban Poorest Poor Middle Rich Richest
*significant at p<0.05
95% LL 21.1 22.0 20.0 22.2 18.3 36.2 25.2 18.9 11.7 7.0
CI UL 29.7 31.6 27.8 31.4 28.4 43.3 32.6 24.7 16.9 11.1
 Prevalence of wasting among school age children
5-10 years old by age groups: Philippines, 2018-2019
20
2018
2019

15
Percentage (%)

9.7 9.6
10 8.6 9.0
8.0 8.0 8.4
7.6
6.4 6.7
5.8
5.0
5

0
5y to 10y 5 to <6y 6 to <7y 7 to <8y 8 to <9y 9 to <10y
95% LL 7.0 7.2 4.2 4.6 5.3 5.8 7.0 6.8 7.0 8.1 8.1 8.1
CI
UL 8.1 9.0 6.0 7.3 7.8 7.9 10.5 9.6 10.1 11.6 10.1 11.4
 Prevalence of wasting among school age children
5-10 years old: Philippines, 2019
20

Sex Place of Wealth Status

Residence
15
Percentage (%)

10 8.6 8.8 8.5

8.0 8.2 8.4 8.0
7.4 7.7

4.9
5

0
All Boy Girl Rural Urban Poorest Poor Middle Rich Richest
95% LL 7.2 7.5 6.6 7.1 7.0 7.4 6.9 7.3 7.0 3.6
CI UL 9.0 9.9 8.3 9.5 8.6 10.6 10.3 9.9 9.1 6.8
 Prevalence of overweight/obese among school age children
5-10 years old by age groups: Philippines, 2018-2019
30
2018
25 2019

20
Percentage (%)

14.7
15
12.5
11.6 11.1
10.2 10.6
9.1 9.2 9.0 9.7
10 8.7
7.4

0
5y to 10y 5y to <6y 6y to <7y 7y to <8y 8y to <9y 9y to 10y
95% LL 10.0 6.8 7.7 5.2 8.4 6.4 7.9 6.4 10.6 6.7 12.7 8.2
CI
UL 13.6 12.1 11.0 10.5 14.4 12.5 12.9 11.9 14.7 13.8 16.9 13.6
 Prevalence of overweight/obese among school age children
5-10 years old (60-120 months): Philippines, 2019
50

Sex Place of Wealth Status *

40 Residence
Percentage (%)

30 26.5

20
15.2
12.1
9.1 9.9 8.4
10 7.3 7.9
4.7
1.9
0
All Boy Girl Rural Urban Poorest Poor Middle Rich Richest
95% LL 6.8 7.1 6.2 5.5 8.6 1.4 4.1 6.4 13.0 20.6
CI UL 12.1 13.5 11.1 9.5 16.8 2.6 5.3 9.7 17.6 33.4
*significant at p<0.05
in school-age
children
 Prevalence of anemia among school age children
6 to 12 years old: Philippines, 2018-2019
50

High
40 2018
Percentage (%)

Moderate
30 2019

20
13.5
10.7
10

Low
0
95% LL 11.2 8.3
CI
UL 16.2 13.7
 Prevalence of anemia among school age children
(6 to 12 years old): Philippines, 2019
20

Sex Place of Wealth Status

15 Residence
12.8
11.1 11.4 10.8
10.7 10.3 10.1
Percentage (%)

9.5 9.8
10 8.8

0
All Male Female Rural Urban Poorest Poor Middle Rich Richest
95% LL 8.3 8.3 8.0 8.9 7.2 8.9 8.1 7.5 6.0 6.1
CI
UL 13.7 14.9 13.1 14.5 12.6 17.9 14.2 13.4 12.9 15.2
Summary
• Prevalence of malnutrition increased from 2018 to 2019
except for overweight and obesity which indicated slight
decreased.

• Anemia prevalence remains to be of “low to moderate”

public health problem but slightly decreased in magnitude.

• Undernutrition remains evident among children in the rural

areas and of households in the poorest and poor wealth
classifications.