By Penelope A. Domogo, MD
We currently face a double challenge: we are eating much more while moving much less.
Consider this. In the recent past, meaning less than 50 years ago, many were small-scale farmers who depended on their own produce for their food. I speak of the early 1980s in the Cordillera and I was a new doctor to the barrios. They woke up by cockcrow to cook their food and went out early to the farm, working there till dusk. They walked and walked briskly because time was of the essence. Farm work is hard and labor-intensive and they had to work in harmony with the seasons. I mean, there was a planting time that they had to catch up with or else maabot ang bagyo season ang palay mo and that would mean hunger till the next season. Harvesting palay should be quick enough to avoid over maturing of the plant making the stems brittle and also to avoid the rainy season. No luxury of a stroll. No luxury to sit down to view the sea of clouds or view the sunset. If they had to sit down, it was to eat quickly and eat squatting or sitting on the ground (yes, Virginia, there are no chairs and tables in the farm). And they ate little. To appreciate what I mean by “little”, try eating while squatting. Yong amount ng kakainin mo while squatting ang totoong small portion. To think na wala ring snacks ang farmer. When you are a farmer, you get your hands soiled and as you work, you reach a momentum where it is not easy to say “okay, coffee break”. Besides you are in the middle of a wet rice paddy so no, you don’t have a snack break. Farmers usually take a break only when they have finished work, meaning they are at the edge of the field. And they ate fresh produce. They ate what they planted or raised or what others in the village planted or raised. Zero food mileage. There was no electricity in Mountain Province until 1985. In other words, 50 years ago, people were moving more and eating less and eating fresh and in season. And did they get sick? Oh yes, but only simple colds and cough, ordinary diarrhea, talin-danum. There was malaria in malaria areas like Tambuan, Natonin, Paracelis. Also, people then knew how to wait without complaining.
Fast forward 2026. Almost every barangay in Mountain Province have roads, we have farm-to-market roads (which I see are actually market-to-farm roads), tricycles, jeeps, buses, taxis, cars. Generally, we don’t have designated bus stops. As much as possible we want door-to-door service so we construct our houses just beside the road, depriving pedestrians of the security of a sidewalk. Pagbaba ng door ng bus e door ng bahay mo. And yet we came from the office or place of work where we have been sitting all day. Pag galing naman sa farm, sasakay din ng tricycle or truck. And then, we have snacks morning and afternoon, we eat while walking or riding, and when we get home, we eat again before supper. Food is available 24/7…. in the store. So it’s not fresh and not according to the season. Life has become very convenient and we say “life in the past was very hard.” What’s the exchange for convenience? I will just name a few: 1) Impatience, 2) bored kids, 3) “laziness”, we dislike cooking slow food or walking, 4) debilitating diseases like hypertension, diabetes, kidney failure, cancer, rayuma. Marami pang kapalit ang convenience. That is the double jeopardy.
What now? At least we know the equation which is as follows:
1) Activity + healthy food and eating = good health & wellness
2) Inactivity + excessive and bad eating = disease and suffering
Dear reader, what equation do you choose?***
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“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” 3 John 1:2
