Nutr Res Pract.  2022 Oct;16(5):658-672. 10.4162/nrp.2022.16.5.658.

Double burden of malnutrition in ethnic minority school-aged children living in mountainous areas of Vietnam and its association with nutritional behavior

• Truong DTT
• Tran THT
• Nguyen TTT
• Tran VHT

• KMID: 2534129
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2022.16.5.658

Abstract

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES
Although children of ethnic minority groups are experiencing a transition from a predominance of undernutrition to overnutrition, there is little evidence of a dual-malnutrition burden. Therefore, this study examined the double burden of malnutrition among school-aged ethnic minority children living in mountainous areas and its association with their diets.
SUBJECTS/METHODS
A cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2019 to March 2020 in 3 mountainous areas of Northern Vietnam among 1,556 ethnic minority schoolaged children. The prevalence of under-nutrition (stunting and thinness) and over-nutrition (overweight and obesity) were measured using the WHO 2006 child growth standards (height-for-age and BMI-for-age Z-score). Nutritional practices were evaluated by the frequency of food consumption based on a 4-level scale.
RESULTS
The percentage of children with stunting and thinness were 14.0% and 5.4%, respectively, while the figure for overweight/obesity was 9.4%. The factors positively associated with stunting were living in a family with more than 2 children or being Muong/ other ethnicities compared to the Tay ethnicity. Children who consumed fish/shrimps/crabs or milk weekly/daily were less likely to be undernourished compared to those who never consumed these foods. By contrast, children who never consumed foods rich in vitamin A precursors and vitamin A and fruit or consumed daily snacks/junk food were more likely to be overweight/obese.
CONCLUSIONS
Undernutrition remains a common issue among school-aged children and adolescents of ethnic minority groups, while over-nutrition exists simultaneously. Public health nutrition programs promoting adequate diets and positive lifestyle changes related to nutrition are essential to tackle the double burden of malnutrition among ethnic minority children.

Keyword

Malnutrition; adolescent; ethnic and racial minorities; Vietnam

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Frequency of consuming different food types of ethnic minority school-aged children in mountainous areas.

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