Vietnamese men stand average 3 cm below global height standard

According to the 2019-2020 National Nutrition Survey, the average height of Vietnamese men stood at 168.1 cm, falling short of the global average by about 3 cm. This shortfall is even more pronounced when compared to leading nations such as the Netherlands, where men average 185 cm, or regional counterparts like Japan and South Korea, with an average male height of around 173 cm.

Dr. Truong Hong Son, Deputy Secretary-General of the Vietnam Medical Association, highlighted these figures at a conference, noting that Vietnamese people remain shorter on average than their counterparts in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Son's remarks came as data from the global NCD Risk Factor Collaboration revealed that Vietnam ranks 153rd out of 201 countries and territories for height, based on a pooled analysis of 2,181 population-based studies covering 65 million participants from 1985 to 2019. The research, published in The Lancet, tracked height trends during this period, indicating that Vietnamese men have experienced a 3.7 cm increase in average height over the past decade, while women have seen a 2.6 cm rise.

Despite this progress, the survey underscores that Vietnam continues to lag behind in terms of height compared to regional neighbors and global standards. Son emphasized that this lingering gap is primarily attributable to shortcomings in nutrition, living conditions, and school-based physical development strategies. He pointed to micronutrient deficiencies, unhealthy lifestyles, and low physical activity levels among school-age children as significant contributors to the problem.

Genetics, nutrition, physical activity, and sleep were identified by Son as the four key factors that determine height. He stressed that school age represents a critical period for a child's physical development, where nutrition must be tailored to meet the specific needs for growth and development rather than merely addressing food safety concerns.

School meals, he argued, should be designed around children's developmental requirements, focusing on providing essential nutrients such as energy, protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals.

Associate Professor Nguyen Quang Dung, head of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety at Hanoi Medical University, concurred with Son's assessment. He stressed the importance of precisely calculating students' diets based on their energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate, vitamin, and mineral needs, ensuring a balanced intake of essential amino acids from both animal and plant protein sources, alongside other critical food groups.

Integrating nutrition education, physical activity, mental healthcare, and self-protection skills into school curricula, according to Dung, would be essential in building a healthier generation of students with improved physical stature in the future.