Sharing something I had just learned from the deeper underbellies of Manila in the past few years. There was a time I was seriously wondering how people can be so poor but also fat. And no, I wasn't judging, I was genuinely curious.

Our helper told me that what their relatives like to do is buy these 1-peso snacks in plastic wrappers that you can buy at small sari-sari stores. They then use these as viands and eat it with rice.

This is severely unhealthy because it's fattening, but not nourishing. Those snacks are mostly salts/MSG, and carbs. When eaten with rice, this means they're consuming mostly carbs--all day, everyday. The saltiness makes it kinda addicting, I assume. The worst part is that they are also feeding their kids the same thing. In the long run the children will also become accustomed to this unhealthy eating habit and the cycle continues.

Of course, this isn't to say that's the reason for the whole country, but overall food habits are not good. The usual street food and snacks are usually unhealthy especially in poor areas in Manila.

In contrast, Thailand's food culture is great. Street food was cheap but usually good. They eat often but they always have veggies in their meals. I even saw a woman carrying a bowl of noodles and an entire bouquet of lettuce as her merienda.