Vietnamese among the shortest, research reveals

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The average height of Vietnamese men and women are ranked 19th and 13th respectively among the shortest nations in the world.

Vietnamese have a low average height compared to the world, the General Medical Association of Vietnam revealed at a scientific conference on stature on 26-9 in Hanoi.

Dr. Truong Hong Son, Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam Medical Association, Director of the Vietnam Institute of Applied Medical Sciences, said that in the past 34 years, the average height of Vietnamese men increased 4.4 cm (from 1.6 meter to 1.64 meter), while that of women increased 3.4 cm (from 1.5 meter to 1.53 meter), which is a low growth rate.

Associate Professor Le Bach Mai, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Nutrition, said that over the past 30 years the rate of malnutrition in Vietnam has remarkably declined from 51% to 14% but the rate of stunt has slowly decreased 59.7% to 26%. 

According to the latest research, one in every six children under five in Vietnam is malnourished, while seven out of ten suffer zinc deficiency, and one in every two suffers from anemia. Southeastern Vietnam is the only region that can supply a sufficient amount of Vitamin A to children while children in other regions lack micronutrient contents.

“Although the living standard in the Red River Delta was improved, the rate of anemia remained the same between 2000 and 2010, while the Central Highlands has seen positive changes. At present, the average anemia rate has been reduced to 28%, but the anemia situation of the children under the age of two remained unchanged from 2005 to 2010,” said Dr. Le Bach Mai.