OCM’s Biggest Loser Program participants undergo nutrition counselling

COTABATO CITY— Participants of the Office of the Chief Minister’s (OCM) ‘Biggest Loser Program’ underwent nutrition counselling  here on Monday, April 19, to help them develop a healthy lifestyle.
 
Biggest Loser Program is a weight loss competition among employees of the OCM, spearheaded by the Administrative Management Services’ Human Resources Management Division (AMS-HRMD). It runs from March 11 to June 10, 2022.
 
On her opening remarks, AMS Director Narcisa Macog reminded everyone that "losing weight is more than just reducing your weight."
 
"It is more about knowing what nourishment to take, what foods to avoid,  and what physical activity best suits us as a counterpart of our diet," she added.
 
During the activity, Regional Coordinator of the National Nutrition Council (NNC) Dr. Kadil Sinolinding Jr discussed relative issues on obesity.
 
In his presentation, Sinolinding shared that National Nutrition Survey (NNS) survey in 2015 showed that 37.2% of the Filipinos are overweight or obese. The data is tripled in the last 15 years with higher obesity rate among children in urban areas.
 
"Hindi po exempted ang BARMM sa pagtaas ng bilang ng mga obese," Dr Sinolinding said.
 
He added that ideally, sustained weight loss program should be three to four kilograms a month.
 
Sinolinding emphasized that most of the common illness, such as type two diabetes, hypertension, and heart diseases, among others, are attributed to being obese or overweight.
 
While obesity can be a real conundrum, Dr Sinolinding said that there are ways to avoid it.
 
"We need to refrain from eating processed foods as they have less essential values such as vitamins and minerals. We can also try dietary modification such as reducing calorie intake or fasting and increasing our physical activity," he explained.
 
Meanwhile, HRMD Chief Lady Hanifah Mindalano-Alonto congratulated the participants for taking the challenge, especially those who have shown improvements since the program was launched.
 
She reminded the participants of the main goal of competition. "The program is not designed to promote drastic weight loss, rather, the goal is to educate like what we are doing right now, motivate and equip individuals with goal-reaching lifestyle skills that will last long right after the program has ended," she said.
 
Assistant Senior Minister Abdullah Cosain was also present during the activity.