Abstract
A double burden of malnutrition in Vietnamese children has emerged as a key challenge: childhood undernutrition remains a public health concern while childhood overweight/obesity has gradually increased. This study aimed to (1) estimate the prevalence of undernutrition and overnutrition among 6–9-year-old primary school children in rural areas of Vietnam, and (2) identify sociodemographic factors associated with undernutrition and overnutrition in this population. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in October 2016 in 2334 children from eight primary schools in rural areas in Hai Phong City, Vietnam. Anthropometric and demographic data were collected. The prevalence of underweight, stunting, wasting, and anthropometric failure was 8.0%, 5.1%, 5.3%, and 11.9%, respectively. Up to 22.1% of children were affected by overweight/obesity, and 31.0% by abdominal overweight/obesity. Low maternal education was associated with higher odds of underweight and anthropometric failure, whereas overweight/obesity or abdominal overweight/obesity were more likely in boys and children of mothers with a high education level. This study provides evidence for a double burden of diseases among primary school children in rural areas in Hai Phong City. Future interventions for the prevention and control of childhood undernutrition and overweight/obesity should take into account child sex and maternal education level.
Highlights
Child malnutrition, which encompasses both undernutrition as well as overnutrition, continues to be a global challenge [1,2]
The aims of this study were 1) to estimate the prevalence of undernutrition and overnutrition among 6–9-year-old primary school children in rural areas in Hai Phong City, Vietnam, and 2) to identify sociodemographic factors associated with undernutrition and overnutrition in this population
This study provides evidence for the double burden of disease in primary school children in rural areas of Hai Phong City, Vietnam with nearly 12% of children affected by anthropometric failure, 22% by overweight/obesity, and 31% by abdominal overweight/obesity
Summary
Child malnutrition, which encompasses both undernutrition as well as overnutrition, continues to be a global challenge [1,2]. Recent estimates indicate that up to 25% of preschool children in low- and middle-income countries are at risk of stunting, 15% of underweight, and 8% of wasting [3]. This high prevalence of undernutrition persists into later childhood with up to a third of school children reported as underweight or stunted [4,5,6,7]. The prevalence of overweight and obesity is even greater among school children in South-eastern Asia with more than 30% of children affected in some settings [9,10,11]. The prevalence of underweight in children under 5 years of age has decreased considerably from 39.0% in 1999 to
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