HCM City reported a sharp increase in the number of overweight and obese students in the past decade, from 21.90 percent in 2009 to 43.70 percent in 2019, according to a survey.
The survey was carried out on 12,000 students from 33 schools, including 10 elementary schools, 12 secondary schools, and 11 high schools.
The results of the survey were announced on Tuesday by Doctor Pham Ngoc Oanh from the HCM City Centre for Disease Control.
The survey found that the proportion of overweight and obese students in elementary schools jumped from 38.50 percent in 2009 to 56.90 percent in 2019.
The rate reported at secondary school and high school students rose from 15.70 percent to 41.90 percent, and from 9.40 percent to 25.30 percent, respectively during the period.
The survey also showed that obese male students outnumbered female students. The rate was also higher among children living in the city centre than those in the suburbs.
The centre also warned that obesity currently made up the highest number of diseases reported among local students, at 28.96 percent.
Another survey carried out in 2021 also showed overweight and obesity rates in Hanoi and HCM City made up 18 per cent of the country’s total number of overweight and obese people.
The obesity rate among children in ages five to 19 years old increased from 8.50 percent in 2010 to 19 percent in 2020, of which the overweight and obesity rate in urban areas was 26.80 percent, 18.30 percent in rural areas and 6.90 percent in mountainous areas.
HCM City child obesity rate nearly doubles over a decade
HCM City reported a sharp increase in the number of overweight and obese students in the past decade, from 21.90 percent in 2009 to 43.70 percent in 2019, according to a survey.
Source: dtinews.vn
