Pfizer just launch the Centrum Nutri Coach, an easily accessible on-line tool that will allow Filipinos to keep track of the nutrients they get from what they eat on a daily basis. The event was held at The Mind Museum in Taguig. Present in the said event are the new Centrum endorser Mikael Daez together with Aaron Villaflor, Slater Young and Markki Stroem.

The Centrum Nutri Coach is the first on-line nutrition tool in the Philippines that takes the Filipino diet into consideration. So in the menu of food choices, you will see halo-halo, inihaw na liempo, kare-kare and other Filipino favorites. It is the only nutrition assessment tool that is based on the Food Composition Table of the Food and Nutrition Table of FNRI (Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Philippines). The Centrum Nutrition Coach will show you how near / far you are from the daily recommended daily intake of each nutrient.

You can event print the result of your Centrum Nutri Coach and share it on Facebook too!  The result will show you the nutrients you get from your food choices and if you are getting the right level of nutrients base on the daily Recommended Energy and Nutrient Intake. Other information you’ll get are your BMI, calorie consumption plus your ideal weight, height and BMI. A sample diet will also be provided in the results page.

“Good health and nutrition is really all about eating a variety of food in the right amounts, as prescribed in the Food Pyramid. We usually count calories and fat, but we also need to consider vitamins and minerals, too,’’ said Joy Ong, Pfizer Brand Manager for Centrum.

The launch of the Centrum Nutri Coach comes on the heels of the research study done by the Food and Nutrition Research Instiute (FNRI) which showed that an alarming 70% of Filipino households don’t get the prescribed amount of most vitamins and minerals they need.


“What we see now is the “double burden of disease”; there is an upsurge in non-communicable disease risk factors like obesity and overweight, in addition to the existing issues of infectious diseases and undernutrition,” said Professor Liezl Atienza from the Institution of Human Nutrition and Food, College of Human Ecology at the University of the Philippines, Los Banos.

According to Atienza, the “double burden of disease” is common among many low and middle-income countries, and particularly in urban settings. Another rising form of malnutrition is “hidden hunger”, which is a deficiency or total lack of specific nutrients needed by the body.

Unhealthy eating habits such a low consumption of fruits and vegetables and high increase in consumption of meat and meat products, coupled with a sedentary lifestyle all contribute to this.

“We hope that with the launch of the Centrum Nutri Coach, we can make nutrition not just easy and accessible to everyone, but also fun. Now that we, for the first time, can actually have a hand in keeping track of our food intake, we can choose to be healthy,” said Ong.

The World Health Organization recommends eating a minimum of 400 grams of vegetables and fruits per day which is equivalent to 5 servings per day with 3 servings of vegetables per day. The WHO recommends this amount for the prevention of non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity, as well as for the prevention and alleviation of several micronutrient deficiencies, especially in less developed countries.

The Centrum Nutri Coach may be accessed at www.centrum.com.ph

CENTRUM NUTRI-COACH FAQ:

How does it work?

You will be asked to input factors like your age, weight and level of physical activity into the Nutri Coach website. These factors are important in gauging how much you [word missing: is this vitamins and minerals?] need.

Then from a menu of different Filipino foods, you will choose what you ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner—and of course merienda. The system will automatically compute the nutrients you are getting from your food choices and will show you your gap versus the recommended daily intake for Filipinos.

It will even propose a sample meal plan for you to follow so you can get enough of the vitamins and minerals you lack with your current diet.

What are the food servings used for the food choices in the Centrum Nutri Coach menu?

Food servings vary per food type. For instance, pizza serving is 1 slice, butter is 1 teaspoon, while coffee is 1 cup. The usual food serving as noted by the nutritionists were used as a guide. Serving details per food item are specified in the nutri coach.

How can I access the Centrum Nutri Coach?

You can access the Centrum Nutri-Coach through the Centrum Website at www.centrum.com.ph.

Can I access the Centrum Nutri Coach via a smart phone/mobile device? 

Yes you can access the Centrum Nutri Coach via a mobile device/smart phone. However the current configuration is formatted for a standard web browser.

What is the basis of the computation of the vitamins and minerals? 

Centrum worked with nutritionists to compute for the vitamins and minerals per food item. The reference used was the Food Composition Table shared by FNRI (Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Philippines).

Can Centrum Nutri Coach save my profile so I can have a diary of my food intake? 

At the moment, we do not have this feature in the website, but this may be considered for the future phases.

Can the Centrum Nutri Coach be used if I am pregnant? 

Yes, the Centrum Nutri Coach considers your age, height, weight, gender, activity level and health condition which includes women who are pregnant.

Can the Centrum Nutri Coach be used for children? 

Centrum Nutri Coach is currently design for adults ages 19 and up.

What is the level of involvement of FNRI on this project? 

Centrum consulted with FNRI, which shared with us the Food Composition Table. This document served as the basis of our partner nutritionists in computing for the nutrient content of the food items in the Centrum Nutri-Coach.

Is the Centrum Nutri Coach user friendly? 

The Centrum Nutri Coach was designed to make it easy for users to navigate. Users have the option to choose pre-set meals that fit their usual food intake if they don’t want to use the customize option where they can choose the actual food items that they usually eat. Various types of eating habits were captured in the Pre-set meals such as High Fiber, High Calorie, Low Calorie, High Carbohydrate, Low Protein, Low Carbohydrate or High Protein.

ABOUT THE NEW ENDORSER

Mikael Daez never imagined that he would be in show business. The true blue Atenean had just graduated with a Management degree when he started modeling and acting in commercials. Mikael Daez was first seen in the Jollibee Champ commercial and went on to do other commercials for Dole and SM. In 2011, he auditioned for a role on the highly anticipated epic serye, AMAYA and was cast as one of Marian Rivera’s leading men. Currently, Mikael is one of the lead stars of GMA’s afternoon primetime TV series, Sana ay Ikaw na Nga.


He is also the new brand ambassador for Centrum. Mikael was chosen because he embodies what the brand stands for: an active, dynamic, healthy lifestyle. A self-described health buff, Mikael is very much into sports, he loves basketball - “more than any girl, it’s basketball that I love,” he once said. Mikael, values being healthy and believes in the right balance of sports and good nutrition from the food he eats. Mikael also writes a column entitled, “Fully Loaded“ for a major nationwide daily.

ABOUT CENTRUM

A product of Pfizer, Centrum is the world’s number one multivitamin-mineral brand. It is specially formulated and balanced with 30 vitamins and minerals. It’s formula is complete with Vitamins A to Zinc to help fill in the nutritional gaps on those days when one eats too little, thus helping an individual reach his recommended intake of certain nutrients that are difficult to get from food alone.

Centrum offers several types of multivitamin supplements that are suitable to an adult’s age group. Centrum for adults below 50 years old while Centrum Silver is apt for those who are 50 years old and above.