A child has her height measured (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – When it comes to food policy,
Vietnam faces a double health burden: The country has seen a rising number
of children with obesity in urban areas, while the number of malnourished
children remains high.
Although it has decreased by 1 percent per year, the
percentage of children less than 5 years old affected by stunting (low
height-for-age) remains high at 24.3 percent nationwide in 2016, according to
the National Institute of Nutrition. Malnutrition rates in children also remain
high in some regions, especially in the mountainous northern regions (30.3
percent) and the Central Highlands (34.2 percent).
A recent study from the institute also shows a sharp increase
in the number of overweight school-age children in Vietnam compared to a
decade ago.
In HCM City, the percentage of overweight children
under 5 years old has tripled in the past decade, from 3.7 percent in 2007 to
11.5 percent in 2017, while the percentage of overweight children from grade
1-12 has doubled, from 11.6 percent in 2007 to 21.9 percent in 2017.
Overweight children account for 40.7 and 50 percent of the
total children living in downtown Hanoi and HCM City, respectively,
the study shows.
There are about 100,000 overweight children in the major
cities of Hanoi, HCM City, Hai Phong, Can Tho and Da Nang. More
overweight children were counted in Hanoi’s inner districts of Hai Ba Trung,
Dong Da, and Hoan Kiem than in the outer districts of Hoang Mai and Thanh Xuan,
according to the Hanoi Preventive Medicine Centre.
The increased number of can be attributed
to an inactive lifestyle and excessive consumption of low nutrition, high-fat
foods such as fast food and soft drinks, said Dr Le Danh Tuyen, head of the
.
Meanwhile, the reason behind the high percentage of
is the traditional diet of most Vietnamese, which does
not provide enough vitamins and minerals for the children’s physical, mental
and intellectual development, he said.
“The majority of Vietnamese are not aware of the importance
of micronutrients such as vitamin A, iron, zinc, and iodine, which has resulted
in a ‘hidden famine’ that affects millions of children,” he said.
Changing the parents’ consumption habits is pivotal to
helping children develop a healthier diet, said Tran Khanh Van, deputy head of
the institute’s Department of Microbiology.
“Parents should seek to buy more micronutrient supplements
that are allowed by the Ministry of Health,” she said.
“The family’s daily meals should incorporate different types
of food, which should be chosen carefully to ensure they are rich with
micronutrients,” she added.
Speaking on a different aspect of the issue, Dr Le Danh Tuyen
said young adults should be concerned about nutritional supplementation even before
they start a family and become parents, as well as during pregnancy.
“Ensuring the right nutrition during the first 1,000 days of
life is crucial to the healthy development of a child,” he said.
“Young women must ensure they receive enough nutrition during
pregnancy, especially iron, for both them and their babies,” he added.
Young mothers should be supplemented with high doses of
vitamin A within the first month after giving birth, Tuyen added. Infants
should be breastfed during the first two years of life to prevent vitamin A
deficiency.-VNS/VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
