The rate of overweight and obesity among Vietnamese women is increasing rapidly

The information was presented by Doctor Do Thi Ngoc Diep, President of the Ho Chi Minh City Food Nutrition Association, at a scientific conference on December 21. According to the International Obesity Federation (WOF), the growth rate of overweight and obesity in Vietnamese women in the period 1995-2016 leads the world with an annual growth rate of 6.9% and in men ranks second. two with a rate of 9.5%, after Laos.

This federation also predicts that by 2030, Vietnam will be among the countries with the highest rate and number of overweight and obese school-age children in the world. This causes huge economic losses and puts a serious burden on the health system.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, overweight and obesity in Vietnamese adults and children increased twofold, to more than 20%, in the decade from 2010 to 2020. Particularly in Ho Chi Minh City, the rate of overweight and obesity in all age groups is double the national average. According to the Nutrition Survey in this city, 57% of elementary school students, 42% of middle school students, 25% of high school students, are overweight and obese.

Globally, obesity is becoming the most concerning health problem. It is estimated that one in eight people is obese. The world recorded 42% of adults as overweight and obese in 2020, expected to increase to 54% by 2035.

Overweight and obesity in children is also increasing rapidly, with a rate of 22% in 2020 and the possibility of increasing to 39% in 2035. The World Health Organization (WHO) in 2013 set the goal of “zero”. “, meaning no increase in obesity until 2025, but so far it has failed.

Currently, the definition of obesity has changed, becoming a complex chronic disease. According to WHO, this disease is defined by excessive fat that can impair health. In most cases, obesity is a multifactorial disease caused by environmental, psychosocial factors, and genetic variations. In each subgroup, it is possible to identify main causative factors such as drugs, nutrition, pathology, immobility, single-gene diseases or genetic syndromes…

According to Dr. Diep, overweight and obesity cause more than 200 different diseases, including mental health, cardiovascular health, blood clotting disorders, skin diseases, musculoskeletal diseases, urology, malignant diseases, and disorders. metabolism, respiration…

Causes and risk factors of overweight and obesity are high-energy foods, high in fat, sugar, ultra-processed foods, genes, mental health, sleep disorders, and lack of physical activity. .. In addition, an important contributing factor is the body’s natural mechanism for solving the problem of hunger – the biggest difficulty when losing weight and maintaining an established weight loss.

The United Nations believes that obesity is a global health problem and needs accelerated solutions from countries. WOF assesses Vietnam’s readiness to deal with overweight and obesity as poor. Vietnam has not completed 30% of the activities according to WHO’s obesity control acceleration plan. For example, many countries in the ASEAN region have taxed sugary drinks and sugary foods, but Vietnam has only discussed and proposed.

Dr. Diep believes that the 4 pillars in obesity treatment are nutrition, exercise, behavioral change and medical intervention. An important goal is to prevent and treat obesity-related complications to improve health and quality of life. The choice of treatment method depends on the characteristics of each patient and the severity of the disease. Nutritional and lifestyle interventions are fundamental and must be included in all treatment approaches.

It is necessary to proactively control weight through maintaining proper nutrition, increasing physical activity, and practicing scientific weight loss methods. Most Vietnamese people do not eat enough recommended needs for vegetables and fruits, and do little physical exercise.