1. Undernourishment the Call for Feeding Program
We've all seen news reports or witness students who go to school starving because they
can't get enough food to eat most of the time. We all feel hungry at times. Hunger is the way the
body signals that it needs to eat. Once we're able to eat enough food to satisfy our body's needs,
we stop being hungry. Teens can feel hungry a lot because their rapidly growing and developing
bodies demand extra food.
Most parents and children doesn’t know what balance nutrition is and can lead to
Malnutrition which is divided into undernourished and over nourished. Students with
undernourishment lack the nutrients necessary for their bodies to grow and stay healthy.
Undernourishment can affect someone's physical and mental health which is very important in
going to school. Students who are suffering from undernourishment are inattentive, weak, low
energy and more likely to get sick; in very severe cases, they may even die from its effects.
Undernourishment affects people of every age, although infants, children, and
adolescents may suffer the most because many nutrients are critical for normal growth and
development. Iodine deficiency, another form of undernourishment, can cause mental
retardation, delayed development, and even blindness in severe cases. Iron deficiency can cause
a person to be less active and less able to concentrate. Students who are undernourished have a
tendency keeping up in school.
Fortunately, Department of Education Memorandum No. 336 series 1998 dated August
19, 1998 implementing the National Feeding Program targeted some public elementary schools.
This program is focused on the health and nutritional development of the learners so that they
will be become physically and mentally fit for learning.
MARK A. SIA, R.N.
Admin. Asst. II
.