Vietnam Records Highest Growth in Obesity in Southeast Asia: Fitch

Vietnam recorded the highest growth in obesity in Southeast Asia in 2010-2014, but it had the lowest rate of obese people, local media reported, citing a report by Fitch Solutions Macro Research, a unit of Fitch Group. The country’s 38% increase in the five-year period was followed by Indonesia with 33% and Malaysia with 27%, Fitch said in its newly-released report on rising obesity levels and its effect on healthcare systems in the Asia-Pacific. However, Vietnam had the lowest rate of obese people in 2014 at 3.6%, compared to 5.7% in Indonesia and 13.3% in Malaysia, the report said. Fitch’s findings in Asian children aspect dovetailed with the most recent study about Vietnamese children published by Vietnam’s National Institute of Nutrition earlier this month. The study showed that 42% of children in Vietnam’s urban areas are overweight and/or obese, compared to 35% in rural areas out of 5,028 students. (VnExpressEnglish, VnEconomy, VnExpress, VTV, Tuoi Tre, Kenh 14, genk, baovinhlong, tamnhin, baoquangbinh)