Boholanos urged to join synchronized

fruit-tree growing for nutrition, July 21

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA)—Sustaining the momentum while making sure that communities understand that a good nutrition program involves inclusivity, Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado has asked members of the provincial, municipal, barangay nutrition council members and concerned Boholanos to join in the June 21 Synchronized Fruit and Tree Growing Activity, as a realization of the 2026 Nutrition Month sub theme: Nutrisyon at Kalikasan, Ating Pangalagaan.

Via memorandum Advisory 2026-0012, dated June 29, 2026, the governor has called Boholanos to join in the activity and document it for posterity.

“Fruit trees in identified vacant lots, idle areas and in urban gardens so the future will be better for kids, or trees to help mother nature recover,” explained PNC Action Officer in Bohol.

And building on top of its successes in its programs in nutrition, authorities in Bohol scour the barangays in the towns to hand over to families of kids with severe issues of weight, stunting, wasting and obesity within the next days, hoping it will improve some more, its nutritional status of the Bohoholano children.

At the recent Kapihan sa PIA on nutrition celebrating Nutrition Month, Provincial Health Office’s nutritionists and dieticians Glenda Papeleras, Ardin Lagumbay and Jenelyn Uy shared an improving nutrition status of Boholano kids, based on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) standards.

Using the government’s Operation Timbang Plus (OPT+) which is an annual monitoring activity conducted by OPT Plus team health authorities measure the nutritional status of all children below 5 years using three WHO indices, the nutritionists explained.

These are used to identify the nutritional status of children using the WHO child growth standards: Weight for Age (underweight), Height/Length for Age (stunting) and Weight for Length/height (wasting), Papeleras shared.

As the data collected can provide focused interventions for identified malnourished children, it can also act as baseline for local planning and an indicator of the success of local nutrition program implementation.

For 2024, the total underweight and severely underweight kids among 0 to 59 months old kids was 2.13 percent of the 95,282 kids weighed. This is equal to 2,031 kids.

In 2025, the underweight data showed 2.52 percent of 91,367 kids who are underweight. This totals to 2,303 kids needing intervention.

In 2026 however, for the 88,675 kids weighed, underweight data shows 2.3 percent, which redounds to 2, 065 kids.

For stunting, from the same number (95,282) of weighed kids in 2024, health authorities tracked a 5.27 percent of these kids with heights below the standards for their ages. This amounts to 5,135 kids.

By 2025, with 91,356 kids measured, stunting data was 5.63 percent or 5,137 kids and in 2026, with 88,675 kids measured, stunting data was 4,650 which is 5.23 percent.

In the weight for height index, in 2024, data was 0.63 or some 5,135 wasted kids out of the 95,282 measured. By 2025, with 91,308 kids in the OPT+, wasting was at 0.86 percent or 5,137 kids. In 2026, with 82,628 kids in the national weighing program for pre school kids, data was 0.70 percent of 88,675 or 4,650 kids.

As to obesity, data in 2025 was 0.69%, 0.83 % and 0.68 for the last three years.

And with these data, the Provincial Nutrition Council (PNC) has the figures to address, and this month, food packs to form the framework of a supplementary feeding program for the underweight, stunted and wasted are in the July schedules, said Lagumbay, who along with Uy and Papeleras also act as nutrition program monitors.

Targetted for 6 to 23 months kids who are severely underweight and severely wasted, a PNC team is handing to local MNCs of Clarin, Getafe, Sagbayan, Inabanga, Loon and Tubigon some food packs on July 20

By the 23rd, th team moves to Guindulman, Jagna, Duero, Loay, Lilia, Alicia, Baclayon, Anda and Valencia for the same purpose and by the 27th, another food pack delivery to the MNCs happen in Ubay, President Carlos P. Garcia and Talibon.

Earlier, food packs were also distributed to MNCs of Batuan, Bien Unido, San Miguel and Carmen.

Nutritionists guests of the online-streamed program explained that the food packs may just be a small pill over the problem, but they said stronger effort and enhancement would be set for Gatas Bol-anon: the most successful locally implemented program against malnutrition.

The supplementary milk feeding for2 to 5 years who are severely stunted and underweight for 90 days and its paired milky bun, not just helped fight malnutrition but also altered the economic footing of the farmers in Bohol with the dairy program that also acts as sources of income for Bohol families.

The PNC also said they would continue with the 90-days dietary supplementation for nutritionally-at-risk pregnant women, teen-age pregnant women with low body-mass-index, to break the cycle of generation via a maternal milk feeding.

Another program is the dietary supplementation of kids with stunting issues from 6 to 23 month, as studies have shown that stunting can be reversed when the child at the proper age, is given the right diet and supplements, according to Lagumbay.

There is also the Department of Education’s dietary supplementation for school children and another for pregnant women using a Food and Nutrition Research Institute supplied food, they shared, which has to continue. (PIABohol)

SUSTAINING THE NUTRI-GAINS. Nutrition stakeholders urge Boholanos to join in the synchronized fruit and tree growing activity this Tuesday, and document this for posterity even as Gov Erico Aristotle Aumentado has issued an advisory for nutrition month’s Nutrisyon at Kalikasan, Ating Pangalagaan. Bohol has been successful in bringing down the percentage of malnourished children in the past years. (PIAbohol)