Vietnam faces triple burden of nutrition: National survey

Illustrative photo. (Source: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - "Vietnam is facing a triple burden of nutrition, including stunting, overweight, obesity and micronutrient deficiency,” Rana Flowers, UNICEF and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN representative in Vietnam, told a conference held in Hanoi on April 15 for the release of the main findings of the National General Nutrition Survey for 2019 – 2020.

More than one in four urban children are overweight or obese, the survey found, with the average nationwide prevalence of 19 percent, up from just 8.5 percent in 2010.

The survey shows the need for urgent interventions as well as the need to review and improve approaches to improve the situation, she said.

Flowers noted that the survey was a rich source of data on age, gender, ethnicity, geographic area and socioeconomic status that can help ensure the new strategy targets for children and communities that may be left behind in general progress.

In his remarks, Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen said the National General Nutrition Survey, the largest ever, was carried out with the participation of 22,400 households in 25 provinces and cities, representing six ecological regions across Vietnam.

The survey findings will play an important role in evaluating the Goals of the National Strategy on Nutrition for 2011 – 2020 and provide scientific evidence for the drafting of the National Strategy on Nutrition in the next phase, he stated.

Rana Flowers, UNICEF and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN representative in Vietnam, speaks at an April 15 conference releasing the main findings of the National General Nutrition Survey for 2019 – 2020. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

The average height of Vietnamese people has increased significantly over the last decade, with that of an 18-year-old male hit 168.1cm last year, a 3.7cm increase from 2010, the survey revealed.

It also found that the increase for 18-year-old women was slightly smaller at 1.4cm, rising from 154.8cm in 2010 to 156.2cm last year.

Director of the National Institute of Nutrition, Professor Le Danh Tuyen, said the average Vietnamese person's diet had changed in the past 10 years.

In 2020, the energy intake was 2023kcal on average per day, slightly higher than the 1925 kcal per day in 2010.

The average consumption of fruits more than doubled from 2010 to 2020 and vegetable intake increased as well, but both are still far short of recommendations at 77.4 percent and 66.4 percent, respectively.

The survey also highlighted the increase in meat, sweetened beverage and fast food consumption, especially in urban areas.

The average Vietnamese person now consumes 136.4 grams of meat daily, compared to just 84 grams in 2010. The figure for urban areas is even larger, at 155.3 grams per day.

The professor said the prevalence of stunting among children under the age of five was 19.6 percent in 2020, below the 20 percent threshold the World Health Organization classifies as medium stunting in a population, due to improved nutrition.

“After remarkably achieving the Millennium Develop Goal in 2008 by reducing the number of underweight children below the age of five by half by 2015, Vietnam is now on course to achieve the Global Nutrition Target for children (reducing the stunting rate by 40 percent in 2025 compared to 2012).

"However, there are still high variations of stunting prevalence between regions and the prevalence is still high in rural and mountainous areas,” he said.

The survey showed that among the children aged five to 19 years old nationwide, the prevalence of stunting is 14.8 percent compared to 23.4 percent in 2010.

Deputy Health Minister Tuyen said priority should be given to improving essential nutrition for the first 1,000 days of a baby's life.

“More efforts are required to handle the situation of increasing overweight and obesity among children, youngster and adult people through a strategic investment and system restructuring to ensure equity for ethnic and minority people and people living in difficult, remote and mountainous areas,” he noted./.