One Filipino develops chronic kidney disease (CKD) every hour, and the patients are getting younger, according to the…

One Filipino develops chronic kidney disease (CKD) every hour, and the patients are getting younger, according to the latest available data.

Health experts trace this alarming shift toward younger patients to unhealthy diet, with consumption of high-sodium processed food serving as the primary cause for early-onset kidney failure. Instant noodles, chips, pizza, other processed food, and even excessive use of condiments such as ketchup, “toyo” (soy sauce), “patis” (fish sauce), and “bagoong/alamang” (fermented fish or shrimp paste) that are popular in the Filipino diet.

Filipinos, per the World Health Organization (WHO), consume 4 grams (g) of sodium, or 10g of salt, per day—more than double the amount of the threshold the WHO has set at 2g of sodium daily, or equivalent to 5g of salt. The WHO has also previously noted that kidney diseases are the fourth leading cause of death in the Philippines, after ischemic heart disease, stroke, and lower respiratory infections.

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Experts believe that public health campaigns or reminders to eat healthy are no longer enough—there is now a growing call for a national sodium reformulation policy that would legally compel food manufacturers to reduce, and eventually phase out, the high sodium content of their products.

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Growing burden

The data are alarming: Adults aged 20 to 59 now make up the majority of CKD patients (57 percent), overtaking senior citizens (41 percent), according to the Philippine Renal Disease Registry. Patients 10 years old and below account for 1.11 percent, while those aged 11 to 19 make up 0.62 percent.

An estimated 7 million Filipinos are living with the disease based on data from 2021. It is fair to expect that this figure has gone up in the last five years, considering that experts believe the majority of CKD cases in the country are undiagnosed and there could be at least 13 million already affected by various stages of the disease.

A report published in this paper this week quotes nutritionist Jeline Marie Corpuz of the global nonprofit Nutrition International as saying that the food environment—the choices available to consumers on grocery shelves—must change.

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This is not just a matter of statistics: it is also an issue of allocating health care resources that are already limited.

Dr. Juliet Chua Chong-Noel of the Philippine Society of Nephrology said the growing burden of CKD is already straining the country’s health system, especially the high cost of dialysis, which can cost an estimated P1 million a year, even with Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) coverage and assistance from other government agencies.

Top medical procedure

According to her, PhilHealth paid P161 million for hemodialysis procedures at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) in the first five months of 2025 alone. In 2024, hemodialysis was the state insurer’s top paid medical procedure.

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Chong-Noel said that treatment is no longer sustainable and prevention is the only way to go. This includes regular check-ups, especially since the early stages of CKD show no signs or symptoms. By the time patients are diagnosed, the disease has worsened, condemning them to a lifetime of costly dialysis sessions.

Last month, President Marcos inspected the progress of the Hemodialysis Building construction at the NKTI in Quezon City, which is being touted as the largest dialysis center in Southeast Asia once completed next year.

The Department of Health projects that 150,000 patients will be undergoing dialysis by 2030, from 64,845 in 2024. The goal, according to the President, is to reduce the number of CKD patients. “But until that happens, we’re continuing to build hospitals so we can provide quality care for CKD patients,” he said.

Alarming trend

While pouring resources into infrastructure, the government must also ensure it does the same for operations and maintenance. A huge medical facility would be useless if it is not equipped with the latest technology and highly trained doctors and nurses.

More importantly, the government must also devote equal attention and resources to preventing CKD, which in the long run will save precious state resources. This means not only pushing for health information campaigns but also advocating for policy changes such as the proposed sodium reformulation policy. This might be a tough campaign, considering its impact on businesses—seven bills have been filed at the House of Representatives, none at the Senate.

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But if the government truly wants to address this alarming trend, it must look into one of the root causes—an unhealthy, high-sodium diet—and help Filipinos not only make informed choices but also create an environment where healthy options are accessible, affordable, and, through strict industry regulation, the default choice for every consumer. This will not only protect future generations from a preventable epidemic but also ensure that their diet choices do not sentence them to a life with chronic illnesses.