The Philippines has been getting heavier every year since 1993, with 43.1% of Filipino adults now classified as overweight or obese, approximately 25 million people out of an estimated 60 million adults, in a trend that Health Undersecretary Dr. Albert Domingo said Wednesday has shown no sign of reversing in over three decades.
Domingo explained the numbers in an interview on DZRH News program The Situation Report on September 16, sharing data he had presented to the House of Representatives as a resource person for a nutrition-related bill.
The public health official said the magnitude of the change since 1993 is striking: less than two in ten Filipino adults were overweight or obese that year, compared to more than four in ten today.
“Tumataba ho tayo simula 1993 hanggang 2025. Nung 1993, 16.6 ang porsyento ng mga Pilipino na adults na overweight at obese, at nung pong 2023, 38.6 na po siya. Mas mataas yung 2025 pa sa 43.1,” Domingo said.
Domingo said the number translates to approximately 25 million overweight or obese adults, a figure that, combined with the unbroken upward trend since 1993, demands urgent policy action on food, physical activity, and the food environment.
“Kung tayo ay isang daang milyon, sige hindi naman lahat non-adults, sabihin na natin 60 million adults eh. Marami na po ‘yung 40% n’on, that’s like a 24 million thereabouts. Medyo delikado po ‘yan,” the health official said.
Domingo, who supervises the DOH’s work with the National Nutrition Council (NNC), said the data is drawn from the council’s own national nutrition surveys and has been consistent in showing an unbroken upward trend across every survey period.
“Pabigat nang pabigat. At mabuti sana kung ‘yung pabigatan dito, sa pabigatan sa ating kakayahan saka ating kita, pero ‘yung timbang ‘yung dumadagdag,” Domingo said.
