HANOI (VnExpress): Vietnamese men have grown 3.7 cm taller over the past decade, but still stand about 3 cm below the global average, according to the latest national nutrition data.
The average height of Vietnamese was measured at 168.1 cm on average, according to the 2019-2020 National Nutrition Survey conducted by the National Institute of Nutrition and the Statistics Department.
The survey found that Vietnamese women averaged 156.2 cm.
Compared with a decade earlier, the average height of young Vietnamese men increased by 3.7 cm, while the average for women rose by 2.6 cm.
Dr. Truong Hong Son, Deputy Secretary-General of the Vietnam Medical Association and director of the Vietnam Institute of Applied Medicine, shared the figures at a conference on Aug. 11 as he noted that Vietnamese people remain shorter on average than those in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.
A decade ago, Vietnam ranked near the bottom of the region, ahead of only Indonesia and the Philippines, Son noted.
The national survey figures are consistent with several international studies on height.
According to a global database by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC), a worldwide network of health scientists tracking non-communicable disease risk factors, Vietnam ranks 153rd out of 201 countries and territories.
NCD-RisC's estimates stem from a pooled analysis of 2,181 population-based studies covering 65 million participants. The research, published in The Lancet in 2020, tracked height trajectories from 1985 to 2019.
With the global average height for men at about 171 cm, Vietnamese men fall short by roughly 3 cm. This gap widens significantly when compared to leading countries like the Netherlands, where men average 185 cm, or regional neighbors like Japan and South Korea, where the average male height is around 173 cm.
"Vietnamese people's height has increased in recent years, but the increase remains slow," Son said. "The country is still among those with the shortest average height in the world."
The problem highlights shortcomings in nutrition, living conditions, and school-based physical development strategies, he said, adding that micronutrient deficiencies, unhealthy lifestyles, and low physical activity levels among school-age children continue to hinder growth.
Listing genetics, nutrition, physical activity, and sleep as the four key factors determining height, Son stressed that school age is one of the most critical periods for a child's physical development.
During this stage, nutrition must go beyond simply keeping children full and instead actively meet their needs for physical development and growth.
However, school meals are currently viewed primarily through a food safety lens, with a focus on preventing food poisoning.
"School meals should be designed around children's developmental needs, rather than simply ensuring that they eat enough and safely," he said.
Associate Professor Nguyen Quang Dung, head of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety at Hanoi Medical University, echoed this sentiment regarding school nutrition. He stated that students' diets should be precisely calculated based on energy, protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals.
Menus should provide essential amino acids and maintain a balance between animal and plant protein sources, as well as incorporate other critical food groups, Dung added.
Nguyen Chinh Nghia, director of the Center for Community Health Communication and Care, suggested that nutrition education, physical activity, mental healthcare, and self-protection skills should be integrated alongside standard academic programs.
Standardizing and improving the quality of school meals is foundational to building a healthier generation of students with better physical stature in the future, Nghia said. -- VnExpress
