Obese students in the city have doubled, surpassing even Thailand

(Dan Tri) - According to Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Tri Thuc, the rate of obesity in urban children in our country is increasing faster than in neighboring Thailand, reaching the threshold of developed countries.

"Time bomb" for the burden of non-communicable diseases

Speaking at the International Scientific Conference on School Nutrition in 2025: For a healthy Vietnam - For Vietnamese stature, taking place on August 14, Dr. Nguyen Tri Thuc, Deputy Minister of Health, said that Vietnam is recognized by the international community as a bright spot in improving nutrition when the height of young people in the decade (from 2010-2020) increased by 3.7cm for men and 2.6cm for women, respectively.

The rate of stunting in children under 5 years old has decreased dramatically, from over 30% a decade ago to below 19.6% (in 2020), a rate of decrease faster than the average in Southeast Asia.

Mr. Nguyen Trong Nghia, Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission at the workshop (Photo: Tran Minh).

However, Vietnam also faces many challenges. The rate of stunted children in ethnic minority areas remains over 30%, nearly double the national average; the attack of the "silent enemy" called overweight and obesity, when in big cities, the rate of overweight and obese students has nearly doubled in the past decade, exceeding the 20% threshold.

"This rate is increasing faster than neighboring countries like Thailand and is almost reaching the threshold of developed countries. This is a time bomb for the burden of non-communicable diseases in the future, eroding the health and labor productivity of the country," the Deputy Minister of Health assessed.

According to Dr. Thuc, school age is the "final golden stage" for comprehensive intervention in nutrition and exercise, creating lifelong changing impacts.

"Therefore, focusing on improving nutrition for students in schools is an important strategic direction towards the goal of improving the stature, physical strength and intelligence of Vietnamese people," the Deputy Minister of Health emphasized.

According to the leader of the Ministry of Health, despite improvements, the average height of Vietnamese youth is still 5-7cm lower than that of Japanese and Korean people, and 2-3cm lower than that of Thai people.

The workshop was attended by many nutrition experts from Japan, England, Germany, China... (Photo: PV).

School Nutrition: From "Recommended" to "Required"?

According to the Deputy Minister of Health, at the workshop, experts need to focus on discussing the improvement of institutions and policies, considering investment in nutrition as investment for development. How to build a "School Milk and School Nutrition Program" at the national level.

It is necessary to build a "Comprehensive School Nutrition Ecosystem", from "eating well" to "eating right, eating enough and exercising scientifically".

The Deputy Minister of Health suggested that ministries, branches and localities make school nutrition a priority in programs and action plans.

Dr. Le Thai Ha, Deputy Director of the Department of Disease Prevention (Ministry of Health) said that the Ministry of Health is currently presiding over the development of the Law on Disease Prevention. In particular, a separate chapter is devoted to regulations on nutrition in disease prevention focusing on nutrition for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and children under 24 months of age (nutrition in the first 1,000 days of life), nutrition for children and school nutrition.

"Some regulations related to school nutrition will change from "recommended" to "mandatory" when included in the Law on Disease Prevention, specifically stipulating the responsibility for implementing school health work for students under the management of educational institutions to ensure that students receive comprehensive health care, both physically and mentally.

The Ministry of Health will strive to complete the draft law, report to the Government to submit to the National Assembly for consideration, comments and approval at the upcoming October session," Dr. Ha informed.

Speaking at the workshop, Mr. Nguyen Trong Nghia, Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission, emphasized that the recommendations at the workshop are an important basis for relevant ministries, departments and branches to advise and develop policies.

"It is necessary to focus on researching, consulting, building and perfecting a comprehensive policy framework on nutrition, contributing to the successful implementation of the Party and State's policies on health care, human resource development, and improving the quality of life of the people, especially the young generation," Mr. Nghia emphasized.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/hoc-sinh-thanh-pho-beo-phi-tang-gap-2-vuot-ca-thai-lan-20250814160600874.htm