Illustrative image. Photo suckhoedoisong.vn

 HÀ NỘI — Phạm Mai Hương’s daughter, who is a secondary-school student in Tây Hồ District, Hà Nội, has gained up to five kilos in the last two months.

Hương said her daughter’s weight was nearly 10kg higher than the Body Mass Index (BMI) standard.

“I’m very worried about my daughter’s weight now,” Hương said.

Hương’s daughter is one of many children in urban areas that have become overweight and obese.

Data of the Ministry of Health recently showed that the rate of overweight and obese children in urban areas accounted for 26.8 per cent of the total children in 2020 in the country. It means that four out of 10 urban children are overweight or obese.

The obesity rate among children in HCM City has exceeded 50 per cent, and 41 per cent in Hà Nội.

The 2019-20 National Nutrition Census of the National Institute of Nutrition said that the rate of overweight and obese children in the country increased 2.2 times between 2010 and 2020.

Causes

Associate Professor Lê Bạch Mai, former deputy director of the National Institute of Nutrition, said the cause of obesity in children was due to eating too much unhealthy food and inadequate exercise.

Many parents often did not know that their child was overweight in the early stages so they could adjust the diet, he said.

When parents realised that the child was overweight, the child was actually obese. Thus, the weight loss would be more difficult than at the early stages, he said.

According to nutrition experts, the endocrine system of children who were overweight and obese could be affected, leading to low blood sugar, diabetes, dyslipidemia, sleep apnea and hypoventilation syndrome.

Moreover, obesity in children also affects the digestive system, causing fatty liver, cirrhosis and gallstones.

Overweight and obese children will also face a risk of hypertension, atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease in adulthood.

Solutions

Deputy Minister of Health Đỗ Xuân Tuyên said parents or caregivers were advised to learn about nutrition and healthy lifestyles to prevent obesity in children, especially children in urban areas.

Nutrition experts suggested that to avoid obesity in children, parents and caregivers needed to give their children the right food and ensure nutrition needs are met.

If the child showed signs of being overweight or obese, it was necessary to cut down on fats and carbohydrates in the child's diet as well as minimise unhealthy foods such as fried foods and sweets, the experts said.

Parents and caregivers should add more fruits and vegetables to the children's diet. Parents and caregivers should increase physical activity for children for at least 1 hour daily and not allow the children to sit idle for a long time.

The children should go to bed before 10pm.

Parents and caregivers also needed to monitor their children's indicators, especially BMI to help their children develop healthily, the experts said.

Tuyên said in response to the situation, the health ministry already submitted to the Government for approval the National Strategy on Nutrition in the 2021-30 period.

It was an overall strategy to improve the stature, physical strength and intelligence of the Vietnamese people.

The strategy consisted of six specific goals. One of the important goals is to control obesity, nutritional metabolism disorders, prevent chronic non-communicable diseases and control risk factors in children, teenagers and adults. — VNS