‘Tabo sa Iodine-rich Food’ to highlight Goiter Awareness Week
CEBU CITY, Philippines – A food bazaar dubbed “Tabo sa Iodine-rich Food” featuring food rich in iodine in select barangays in the region will highlight the celebration of the Goiter Awareness Week (GAW) in Central Visayas.
The Tabo will be held on Friday, January 25 from 8 a.m. – 11 a.m. at the Lapu-Lapu City Sports Complex in Lapu-Lapu City located 18.2 kilometers from Cebu City.
The event aims to raise public awareness on goiter and other diseases caused by iodine deficiency, a threat that continues to hound people in the region.
Goiter is the abnormal enlargement of the thyroid gland commonly caused by the lack of iodine in the diet.
The latest Global Iodine Status of school-age children, women of reproductive age and pregnant women in 2017 showed an insufficient iodine intake among pregnant women with a Median UIC of 105 µg/L.
Insufficient iodine intake can also lead to birth defect problems such as stillbirths, squint eyes and poor mental development of unborn children.
School-aged children though had an adequate iodine intake with a Median UIC of 168 µg/L.
A Median UIC of 100 µg/L to 299 µg/L for school-age children and Median UIC of 150 µg/L to 249 µg/L for pregnant women are considered as adequate.
Central Visayas has a Median UIC of 111 µg/L, an indication of insufficiency of iodine consumption, based on the 2013 Philippine Facts and Figures of the National Nutrition Survey (NNS).
According to the 2008 NNS, 8.9 percent of adults examined has goiter. This is higher compared to the 1993 survey results which was 6.7 percent and 3.7 percent in 1987.
The study was done through the Philippine Thyroid Disorder Prevalence Survey (PhilTiDeS), the very first national survey in the Philippines on the prevalence of thyroid disorder based on thyroid function tests.
The GAW celebration which started last January 20 and will end on the 26th carries the theme “Goiter sugpuin, isip patalinuhin, iodized salt gamitin.”
The celebration is spearheaded by the Regional Bantay Asin Task Force 7 (RBATF 7) and National Nutrition Council Region VII in collaboration with the Lapu-Lapu City Nutrition Committee.
Other activities of the week-long GAW observance include simultaneous nutrition quiz held last Monday, January 21; flag ceremony done by LGUs and government agencies; hanging of official GAW streamers; quad-media advocacies; and conduct of salt monitoring of the two (2) major salt producers operating in Central Visayas.
NNC-7 Nutrition Program Coordinator Dr. Parolita A. Mission encouraged the public to join the nationwide celebration of the Goiter Awareness Week by joining the Tabo in Lapu-Lapu City and consume iodine rich food such as seafoods including shellfish and seaweeds; eggs; and dairy products.
Dr. Mission also enjoins the public to look for the “Saktong Iodine sa Asin” seal in their grocery purchases to make sure that the members of their household can consume adequate amount of iodine./mga
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