Physical activity, energy requirements, and adequacy of dietary intakes of older persons in a rural Filipino community

Abstract Background Aging is a process associated with physiological changes such as in body composition, energy expenditure and physical activity. Data on energy and nutrient intake adequacy among elderly is important for disease prevention, health maintenance and program development. Methods This descriptive cross-sectional study was designed to determine the energy requirements and adequacy of energy and nutrient intakes of older persons living in private households in a rural Filipino community. Study participants were generally-healthy, ambulatory, and community living elderly aged 60–100 y (n = 98), 88 of whom provided dietary information in three nonconsecutive 24-hour food-recall interviews. Results There was a decrease in both physical activity and food intake with increasing years. Based on total energy expenditure and controlling for age, gender and socio-economic status, the average energy requirement for near-old (≥ 60 to 2 (p = 0.003) for every 1% decrease in total caloric intake as percentage of the total energy expenditure requirements. Conclusion These community living elderly suffer from lack of both macronutrient intake as compared with energy requirements, and micronutrient intake as compared with the standard dietary recommendations. Their energy intakes are ~65% of the amounts required based on their total energy expenditure. Though their intakes decrease with increasing age, so do their energy expenditure, making their relative insufficiency of food intake stable with age.</p

Effect of a multiple-micronutrient-fortified fruit powder beverage on the nutrition status, physical fitness, and cognitive performance of schoolchildren in the Philippines

This study aimed to determine the effect of a multiple-micronutrient-fortified beverage on the micronutrient status, physical fitness, and cognitive performance of schoolchildren. The study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of schoolchildren assigned to receive either the fortified or nonfortified beverage with or without anthelmintic therapy. Data on hemoglobin level, urinary iodine excretion (UIE) level, physical fitness, and cognitive performance were collected at baseline and at 16 weeks post-intervention. The fortified beverage significantly improved iron status among the subjects that had hemoglobin levels /dl at baseline. The proportion of children who remained moderately to severely anemic was significantly lower among those given the fortified beverage. In the groups that received the fortified product, the median UIE level increased, whereas among those who received the placebo beverage, the median UIE level was reduced significantly. Iron- and/or iodine-deficient subjects who received the fortified beverage showed significant improvements in fitness (post-exercise reduction of heart rate) and cognitive performance (nonverbal mental ability score). The study showed that consumption of a multiple-micronutrient-fortified beverage for 16 weeks had significant effects on iron status, iodine status, physical fitness, and cognitive performance among iron- and/or iodine-deficient Filipino schoolchildren. Anthelmintic therapy improved iron status of anemic children and iodine status of the iron-adequate children at baseline but it had no effect on physical fitness and cognitive performance. The results from the clinical study showed that a multiple-micronutrient-fortified beverage could play an important role in preventing and controlling micronutrient deficiencies

A novel method for measuring health care system performance: experience from QIDS in the Philippines

Objectives Measuring and monitoring health system performance is important albeit controversial. Technical, logistic and financial challenges are formidable. We introduced a system of measurement, which we call Q*, to measure the quality of hospital clinical performance across a range of facilities. This paper describes how Q* was developed, implemented in hospitals in the Philippines and how it compares with typical measures