Assessment of Socioeconomic and Climate Change-related Factors to Meeting Recommended Energy Intake (REI) of Filipino Households

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and climate change-related factors associated with meeting recommended energy intake (REI) among Filipino households. This paper utilized data from selected components of the 2013 National Nutrition Survey (NNS) and 2015 Updating Survey of the Department of Science and Technology – Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI), typhoon/flood occurrence from online reports of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and drought data for the first quarter (Q1) of 2015 from the Philippine Rice Information System (PRiSM) of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Multiple logistic regression using the backward elimination method was done and post-estimation tests were applied to the final model. Filipino households with more than three members were food insecure and were poor were less likely to meet the REI. On the other hand, households engaged in agricultural work, having a member working abroad, residing in rural areas, and shorter time lag exposure to typhoons/floods were more likely to meet REI. Filipino households in Mindanao, meanwhile, were less likely to meet REI if they had more than three members and were food insecure and more likely to meet REI if they were engaged in agricultural work. The study provides a snapshot of a seemingly minute but significant facet of the health and nutrition situation in the Philippines, which is meeting the REI at the household level in relation to exposure to extreme weather events such as typhoons, floods, and drought brought about by climate change. The results of the study may provide vital inputs to climate change adaptation programs of the government for vulnerable population groups, particularly among farming- and fishing-dependent households who will likely absorb the long-term impact of the extreme weather events to their livelihoods.