VietNamNet Bridge - The indicators on height show that the Vietnamese are shortest in the region. Compared to neighboring countries, the height of the Vietnamese is far behind.




{keywords}

Photo for illustration.



This information was given at the workshop "Raising the height of Vietnamese children" held by the National Nutrition Institute in Hanoi on Monday.

Accordingly, the average height of Vietnamese young men at the age of 22-26 (2010 survey) is 1,644 m, the lowest compared with 13 countries in Southeast Asia and some European countries.

Specifically, the height of young men in Thailand (studies from 1991-1995) was 1,675 m, in South Korea (2006) was 1,739 m. The average height of young men from 17-25 years old (studies in 2005) of Singapore was 1,706 m. In China, the average height of young men aged 17-20 (2004 results) was 1,702 m. The above figures show that the average height of young men in these countries is much higher than that of Vietnam, not to mention that the study conducted in Vietnam later than these countries from 5 to 6 years.

For women, the average height of Vietnamese young women is also lowest in the region, at 1,548 m, compared to 1,573 m in Thailand, 1,611 m in South Korea and 1,586 m in China.

According to Dr. Nguyen Thi Lam, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Nutrition, this is mainly cause by nutrient conditions in the past.

"The subjects of the study in 2010 were from 22-26 years old. It means that they were born in the 80s. At that time, the country's economic conditions were difficult, people could not afford to provide kids with enough nutrients to promote their height," said Lam.

According to Lam, diet plays an important role for the development of health and height of children. More than 20 years ago, up to more than 50 percent of Vietnamese children were malnourished in the form of underweight but now the ratio has fallen sharply to only 16.2 percent. She was optimistic that in the next 20 years, the height of the Vietnamese will be much improved.

In April 2011, the government approved a master plan to develop strength and stature of the Vietnamese from 2011 to 2030 with the following specific goals: the average height of men at the age of 18 in 2020 is 167 cm and 168.5 cm in 2030; the figures will be 156 cm and 157.5 cm for 18-year-old women, respectively.

C.Quyen