Cebu City – Students of the Nutrition and Dietetics program of the University of San Carlos collaborates with the local nutrition committee (LGU) of Liloan, Cebu in the conduct of the 2016 Operation Timbang Plus in four of the municipality’s barangays: Poblacion, Catarman, Jubay and San Vicente.

The activity which is part of the student’s Public Health Nutrition practicum, involved the students accompanying BNSs and BHWs for two days in the conduct of the OPT Plus, giving them a hands-on experience of how the activity is carried out. They were given tasks such as the actual weighing and height/length taking in the sitio/puroks they were assigned in.

Operation Timbang Plus is the annual taking of height and weight measurement of all pre-schoolers ages 0-71 months or below 6 years in a community to identify and locate the malnourished children taking place during the first quarter of every year.

The purpose for this yearly program is to provide information to the LGU of the effectiveness of their local nutrition program. Thus, the results of the said program reveal the nutritionally depressed areas which serve as the top priority in the LGU’s nutrition planning program and intervention.

In partaking in said activity, the BSND students were able to get a fell of the roles and responsibilities of local nutrition workers as well as experience first hand the time, effort and resources needed to conduct such activity. It enabled them to appreciate these workers’ contribution to the nutrition program. //Mary Margaret B. Asumbrado, USC Intern/NGS