Cebu City – While most health and nutrition workers are no strangers to the WHO-CGS reference tables, recent Central Visayas LGU coaching and mentoring activities have shown a limited understanding of how and why these are used.
Of course, one could argue that it may be because of the utilization of the eOPT tool which automizes age-in-months computation and nutrition status identification that most health and nutrition workers have limited use for the CGS reference tables, but knowledge and skills in its use are still essential and here are the reasons why:
- Fast interpretation of nutrition status
- Easy to use
- Able to provide parents with quick nutrition information and counseling
- There is no need for computers/laptops or electricity to identify the nutritional status
- Referral of children (especially SAM) for immediate nutrition interventions is expedited
There is a set of CGS tables that health and nutrition workers use to identify the nutritional status of children. Each set is composed of three (3) indicators that are further divided into two for boys and girls. These tables are as follows:
Weight-for-Age Tables which indicate the child’s current weight compared to their age. These tables tell us if a child is underweight or overweight.
Length/Height-for-Age Tables which checks if the child’s length (lying down) or height (standing up) measurement is suitable for age. They indicate whether a child is chronically malnourished or stunted.
Weight-for-Height/Length Tables which checks if the child’s weight is suitable for their length or height. It also indicates if the child is acutely malnourished. Remember that there are separate tables for weight-for-length (for 0-23 months) and weight-for-height (24-59 months)
Download the reference tables by clicking on this link//NGS
