Inadequate Nourishment

Malnutrition is a big topic in Vietnam, but the focus is often on children. Because parents worry about leaving their children in hunger, they tend to sacrifice their foods to ensure that their children will have enough to eat. This kind of emphasis from the parents is partly the reason why so much attention is given to children malnutrition even though parents and the elderly are also suffering.

There is a high percentage of malnourished children in Vietnam even though the rate has significantly decreased in the past years. In 2010, they determined that the rate of underweight children is about 17.5% while it is 29.3% for children with stunted growth. However, Vietnam is still working on reducing the malnutrition rates. Even recently, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has agreed to provide assistance to Vietnamese children for the next five years.

One of the reasons why this is an important issue it could greatly affect future financial distributions, focusing on providing for children rather than investing in programs for the elderly. Allocating resources to children could possibly mean that the elders will be left behind. This could mean less programs to provide resources to health options, to reduce elderly malnutrition, and to assist with other issues.

It is also an issue that is necessary to understand and work on because long-term malnutrition results in defects and diseases such as diabetes in later life. Studies have found that overweight or obesity and nutritionally-related chronic diseases (NRCD) are "on the rise at an alarming rate." NRCD includes hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. A 2005 survey found that the distribution of overweight/obesity is about 43% in the 45-54 urban age group. This percentage is higher relative to other age groups (for more information, refer to this review article). Thus, fighting children malnutrition can only mean that children will grow up healthier, and when they become adults, they will be less prone to particular nutritionally-deficient diseases, leading to a healthier nation.