Malnutrition rate of children under 5 years old in Vietnam

Malnutrition in the first years of a child's life greatly affects the child's physical and intellectual development later in life. There are many studies that have demonstrated the association between nutritional status at an early age and the impact on physical and mental development, working capacity as well as the risk of non-communicable diseases such as heart disease. cardiovascular diseases, diseases related to blood pressure, cancer.
However, the rate of undernutrition among children under 5 years old in Vietnam has been assessed to have decreased rapidly and remained sustainable for many years. At the same time, along with the rate of malnourished children in Vietnam decreasing, the practical knowledge of nutrition of mothers in particular and the Vietnamese people is increasingly improved. Besides malnutrition in children, micronutrient deficiency is also an important issue and is being actively improved. And to achieve this result, it is also thanks to the contribution of the National Program on Prevention of Malnutrition, the Program of Vitamin A Supplementation, and the Program on Prevention of Iron-Deficiency Anemia which have been deployed nationwide.
During the years of the Vietnam War, there were extremely difficult times and consequences with the rate of malnutrition among children under 5 years old in Vietnam in the early 80s of the last century being very high. Over 50% of children under 5 years old are malnourished. And at the present time, malnutrition in children is still at an important threshold, especially stunting. According to statistics of national research results, 1 in 4 children is stunted, and this result also differs between regions, especially some provinces with low rates of stunting. stunting is at a very high level of over 35%.
Besides, overweight and obesity in children is also increasing very rapidly, especially in the component provinces with major economic restructuring and changes including large urban areas. This figure is estimated to be over 10%.

Malnutrition is a fairly common health problem related to a diet that does not contain adequate nutrients in both quantity and quality. Or it can happen when the body has problems absorbing nutrients from food. From that, it can be shown that the causes of malnutrition in children under five years of age include:
In the course of daily life activities, mothers do not have enough knowledge to nurture and care for young children leading to to inadequate breastfeeding or the wrong way of introducing solids, such as introducing solids too early or too late The child does not have a good taste in the foods selected in the child's meal or when Children can often suffer from infectious diseases such as diarrhea, pneumonia, helminths... and must use a variety of antibiotics and medicines. to help effectively kill pathogenic bacteria. However, when killing pathogenic bacteria, it will inevitably destroy a part of beneficial bacteria for the body, causing consequences that affect the intestines or cause digestive disorders of the child. Or sometimes, during meals, children are pressured by parents to eat, causing children to become afraid, which in the long run will lead to anorexia of children and may cause malnutrition. Consequences of malnutrition occur, making children more susceptible to diseases related to respiratory or intestinal infections, making children retarded in both physical and mental development. Moreover, malnutrition also causes all organs of the child to decrease in activity as well as function, and also affects the musculoskeletal system, causing the height and stature of the child to be affected. Not only that, malnutrition also causes children to have reduced brain development, slowness, poor absorption...
Malnutrition in children can be seen through signs such as children's weight not growing as expected. for 3 consecutive months. Children often show signs of changes in behavior such as fussiness, less play, less flexibility, slowness... Physical structure such as soft muscles in the limbs, big belly. In particular, children with little or no motor development such as slow rolling, crawling, walking can also be considered as the most obvious sign related to malnutrition...

In order to reduce the rate of malnutrition among children under 5 years old, the National Institute of Nutrition believes that improving the quality of meals and supplementing with micronutrients for children is essential for this activity. Multi-micronutrient supplementation for children has been shown to be more effective in children's growth and development than micronutrients alone. At the same time, encourage parents to use a variety and combination of foods in their children's daily meals to help enhance micronutrients. In addition, it is necessary to do some of the following:
Proper nutritional care for pregnant women to achieve the recommended pregnancy weight. At the same time, combining medical care helps to better monitor the health status of mother and baby. Pregnant women should have antenatal care at least 3 times during pregnancy and have 2 tetanus shots. Newborn babies must be breastfed immediately after the first hour after birth and exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months and continue to breastfeed until 18 to 24 months Parents give children appropriate complementary foods at the right time. 6 months to start implementation. Keep your child's meals varied while increasing energy density to help meet your child's recommended needs. Implement the prevention of micronutrient deficiencies for both women and children. Pregnant women should be supplemented with iron and folic acid, and children under 36 months should take high doses of vitamin A twice a year. At the same time, take reasonable care of children when they are sick. Implement the development of nutritional umbrellas in the ecosystem to have more food sources to improve the meals of children in particular and families in general. Sanitize the surrounding living environment, use clean water, periodically deworm children, and strictly wash hands before eating and after going to the toilet. Moreover, it is necessary to ensure food hygiene and safety. The improvement of malnutrition in children can take place for a long time, so it is recommended that parents be calm and persistent when supplementing nutrients for children, even through eating or functional foods. In particular, the use of functional foods should choose those of natural origin that are easily absorbed, do not allow children to use many types at the same time or continuously change the types of functional foods.
Parents should supplement their children with supportive products containing lysine, essential micro-minerals and vitamins such as zinc, chromium, selenium, and B vitamins to help fully meet their child's nutritional needs. At the same time, these essential vitamins also support digestion, enhance nutrient absorption, help improve anorexia, and help children eat well.
Parents can learn more:
Signs of zinc deficiency in children
Micronutrient deficiency and failure to gain weight in children
For more nutritional knowledge and child care for each age, parents please regularly visit the website vimec.com and make appointments with the leading doctors, pediatric specialists - nutritionists of Vinmec International General Hospital when needing advice on children's health.