Nearly 3.2 million children aged below five in Vietnam are now undernourished, accounting for 42.1% of the country’s total 7.6 million kids, said Dr. Trinh Hong Son from the National Institute of Nutrition. Among those, more than two million children have stunt growth and 1.2 million are underweight, he said, citing a statistics by the institute as saying. Mr. Son said that the number of stunted children in the age group has grown at a slow pace in recent years, adding that 17 provinces and cities across the country report 20% of children with acute and chronic malnutrition. Apart from malnutrition, he also rang an alarm bell over the rate of obese and overweight children, which increased by nine-fold over the past ten years, from just 0.62% in 2000 to 5.6% in 2010. Height and physical fitness are 20% dependent on genetic factors and 80% on nutrition, living environment and exercise. Thus, children should follow a proper nutritional diet to develop their physical fitness comprehensively and sustainably, he suggested. (Tuoi Tre – Youth Oct 9, vietnamplus.vn Oct 8, Quan Doi Nhan Dan –People’s Army Oct 8)
