Adequate and balanced nutrition helps stunted children improve their stature

The common desire of parents is to create the best conditions for their children to develop. But UNICEF statistics show that nearly 1/5 of Vietnamese children are slow to grow in height for their age, meaning they are malnourished and stunted. At a series of seminars organized by the Vietnam Pediatric Association and Abbott in early December, experts emphasized that screening, early nutritional assessment and timely intervention are the optimal solution, especially the first 5 years of life. Golden time for height intervention.

Specifically, it is necessary to promote early screening and intervention in malnourished and at-risk children, both while children are in the hospital and after discharge.

Assessing a child’s growth based on visual estimates of weight and height is inaccurate. Health officials and parents should regularly check and evaluate their children’s growth status with standardized tools. Timely intervention is needed when detecting children with growth problems.

At the conference, Associate Professor, PhD. Tran Minh Dien, President of the Vietnam Pediatric Association, Director of the National Children’s Hospital, emphasized: “Early screening, nutritional assessment and timely intervention are the optimal solution, especially in the first 5 years of life. This is the golden time for height intervention. Malnourished children need continuous attention and care from the hospital to the community, helping them have the opportunity to improve their health and stature.”

PhD.BS. Phan Huu Phuc, General Secretary of the Vietnam Pediatric Association, Deputy Director of the National Children’s Hospital, said that a good nutritional foundation will help children grow more comprehensively in health, stature and intelligence.

Nutritional intervention with balanced and complete oral nutritional supplements (ONS) – medical nutritional foods is an effective measure to help improve children’s growth. Information at the conference, 25 international clinical studies from Abbott on 3,000 children, including Vietnamese children, have shown that medical nutritional foods help children improve growth in height, weight, and resistance. , quickly catch up and maintain healthy growth momentum. Children’s optimal growth is a solid foundation for developing their stature and intelligence when they become adults.

Experts recommend that when choosing oral nutritional supplements (ONS), consider the following criteria: proven effective by scientific research, recognized by regulatory agencies, medical nutritional foods, The formula provides complete and balanced nutrients such as high quality protein, arginine, vitamin K2, essential vitamins and minerals, along with probiotics and prebiotics… to support growth and help children develop healthily. strong.

Collaborating with the Vietnam Pediatric Association is one of Abbott’s latest activities to address malnutrition challenges and improve the stature of Vietnamese children.

Abbott Center for Malnutrition Solutions leverages the company’s scientific achievements, healthcare expertise, and partnerships to develop initiatives that help detect and address and prevent malnutrition in many countries around the world. The center’s work contributes to Abbott’s 2030 Sustainable Development Plan, which aims to improve the lives of more than 3 billion people each year by the end of the decade.

With nearly 30 years of operation in Vietnam, Abbott strives to help people live healthy and fulfilling lives, through a portfolio of life-changing products and technologies that cover many areas, from scientific nutrition, diagnostics to medical devices and pharmaceuticals.

Abbott and the Abbott Foundation have invested more than VND 280 billion in Vietnam to help solve health problems, focusing on improving nutrition, preventing and treating chronic diseases, training medical staff and Raise awareness of community health care.