The rate of overweight and obesity among children aged five to 19 in Vietnam more than doubled within just 10 years to 19 percent in 2020 from 8.5 percent in 2010.

The obesity rate is increasing rapidly in Vietnam, similar to the general situation of many countries around the world, Vo Duc Chien, director of Ho Chi Minh City-based Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital, said during a conference on new solutions in the diagnosis and treatment of obesity on Thursday.

Obesity is recognized by the World Health Organization and the American Medical Association as a chronic disease that requires long-term management and treatment, for it causes many dangerous complications such heart disease and diabetes, Chien stated.

A study on noncommunicable diseases, diet, and nutrition in Vietnam in 2018 revealed that the lifestyle of Vietnamese people had changed a lot in recent years, such as being more sedentary, eating a diet high in salt, carbohydrate, and fats, drinking a lot of soft drinks, and eating less vegetables.

Statistics showed that overweight and obesity rates in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City accounted for 18 percent of the country’s total in 2021.

Notably, the rate of overweight and obesity among school-age children, from five to 19, in Vietnam increased to 19 percent in 2020 from 8.5 percent in 2010.

Among the overweight and obese people in Vietnam, 26.8 percent were in urban areas, 18.3 percent in rural areas, and 6.9 percent in mountainous areas.

There is a close connection between obesity and diabetes, said Thai Van Hung, specializing in obesity treatment at Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital.

In 2019, the number of people with type-2 diabetes in Vietnam made up about 5.7 percent of the population, or around 3.8 million people.

It is expected that this rate will increase to 7.7 percent by 2045, which means the number of people with diabetes will almost double to 6.1 million people.

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