The double burden of malnutrition in Vietnamese school-aged children and adolescents: a rapid shift over a decade in Ho Chi Minh City.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Vietnam is undergoing a nutrition transition, which is leading to marked shifts in body size at the population level, but up-to-date data are lacking. We therefore quantified the prevalence of undernutrition (stunting and thinness) and overnutrition (overweight, obesity, and abdominal obesity) in school-aged children in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMc), Vietnam, and compared this with previous estimates. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 10,949 children (6-18 years old) from 30 schools in HCMc, Vietnam in 2014-2015 was used to ascertain the nutritional status of children and adolescents. Different international classification systems (WHO, IOTF, IOTF for Asian children) were used to assess the prevalence of under and overnutrition. Comparisons were made with previous surveys in HCMc. RESULTS: Regardless of definitions used, the prevalence of overnutrition was high, particularly in primary school children (20-30% were overweight, 20-30% were obese, and 50% had abdominal obesity), in boys, and urban children. Undernutrition was more prevalent in high-school children (8% were stunted, and 6-18% were thin, versus 2 and 2-9% in primary children, respectively), and in rural areas. Comparisons with previous surveys indicated substantial increases in overnutrition and decreased in undernutrition since 2009 in all age groups. CONCLUSIONS: Overnutrition is increasingly common in school-aged children and adolescents in HCMc, while over and undernutrition continue to coexist. These findings highlight an urgent need for greater efforts to control malnutrition in children in HCMc.

Overweight/Obesity among Kindergarten Children and Its Risk Factors in the Central Region of Ho Chi Minh City: / 国際保健医療

<b><big>Introduction and Purpose</big></b><br>Overweight and obesity have recently emerged as major problems of malnutrition among children in developing countries. However, risk factors for childhood obesity in Asian countries remain largely unknown. Identification of target populations for its prevention and intervention is urgently needed. This survey was conducted to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity and identify possible risk factors among kindergarten children in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.<br><b><big>Methods</big></b><br>In this cross-sectional study conducted in March, 2005, 780 children in their third and fourth years in kindergarten and their mothers were randomly selected from eight local kindergartens. Height and weight of mother-child pairs were measured, and an interview was conducted by trained staff using a questionnaire in Vietnamese. Overweight/obesity was defined as a weight-for-height > 2 SD above the National Center for Health Statistics median reference value. Risk factors for overweight/obesity were analyzed using logistic regression.<br><b><big>Results</big></b><br>There were 741 respondents (377 boys and 364 girls); the response rate was 95.0%. Average age of children was 61.8 ± 6.8 months; the average age of mothers was 35.0 ± 5.2 years. The average height and weight were 110 ± 5.7cm and 21.2 ± 4.0kg respectively. Of the 741 children, 27.8% were identified as being overweight/obesity. Four possible variables selected were: 1) child's sex, 2) mother's awareness of her child's current body type, 3) mother's expectation for her child's body type in the future, 4) mother's awareness of her own current body type .<br><b><big>Conclusion</big></b><br>Our findings point to the importance of addressing appropriate body images in the management of children's nutritional health. Providing sufficient amounts of information on appropriate body type in addition to feeding practice to mothers should be a priority at the Ho Chi Minh City Nutrition Center to prevent child overweight and obesity.