ZAMBOANGA CITY, 23 Jan. (PIA) - - January 21-27 is “Goiter Awareness Week” (GAW) as
per Presidential Proclamation 1188
issued on December 11, 2006 declaring every 4th week of January as GAW.
National
Nutrition Council (NNC) Nutrition Program Coordinator Maria Del Pilar Pamela
Tarroza called on stakeholders to support this annual celebration by
drumbeating public awareness on Goiter and it’s prevention.
Tarroza
also encouraged the public to include consumption of iodized salt as a way to
prevent the disease.
“Survey results of the Food and Nutrition
Research Institute in 2008 have shown that Zamboanga Peninsula is one of the
five regions where Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) is still prevalent while
most of the regions in the country are found to have optimal iodine status,”
Tarroza said.
“Universal
Salt Iodization is the recommended strategy to eliminate IDD in the population
but among household included in the survey, only 62.8% was tested positive for
iodine in their salt,” Tarroza informed.
“Thus
the need to intensify campaign for salt iodization,” she emphasized.
NNC is a member of the Philippine Thyroid Council, which spearhead the celebration
of Goiter Awareness Week.
Goiter is the enlargement of the thyroid gland caused by Iodine Deficiency or a problem of imbalance in thyroid hormone production.
Goiter is the enlargement of the thyroid gland caused by Iodine Deficiency or a problem of imbalance in thyroid hormone production.
Tarroza said everyone’s participation in information dissemination and
cooperation in the promotion of the use of iodized salt will greatly contribute
in the efforts to eliminate IDD which is a common cause of preventable mental
retardation and lost of IQ points in children impeding their learning ability.
Among
the symptoms of goiter are an enlarged anterior neck region, difficulty in
swallowing, difficulty in breathing, palpitations, heat/cold intolerance and
fever. (FPG/JPA/PIA 9)