On November 27, in Hanoi, the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA) in collaboration with the Vietnam Medical Association organized a scientific workshop on "The current status of nutrition and health of the elderly in some big cities and proposed solutions".
Under the direction of Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Xuyen, President of the Vietnam Medical Association, the Conference announced the latest research results conducted by the Vietnam Institute of Applied Medicine in several major cities on the nutritional status and health of the elderly.
Based on the research results, the Workshop proposed a number of strategic recommendations and intervention solutions to enhance the capacity of the health care system and effectively adapt to the rapidly aging population trend in Vietnam.
Research conducted in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in 2025 has shown an alarming situation regarding the nutritional and health status of the elderly, including overweight, obesity and chronic diseases.
Specifically, the obesity rate among the elderly surveyed was 33.2%. In addition, up to 87.7% of the elderly surveyed had at least one chronic disease, and on average each person had to deal with two or more chronic diseases. The most common of these were high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and bone and joint diseases.
Regarding nutrition, the research results reflect an imbalance in the elderly's diet: only 25% of those surveyed eat enough of the 5 food groups and 20% use foods rich in calcium and high biological value proteins such as milk and dairy products.
Meanwhile, the habit of consuming foods containing many health risk factors (high in salt, fried, rich in simple sugars) is quite common, with a rate of up to 40-60%.
At the workshop, delegates including many leading health experts agreed to propose a number of policy orientations and synchronous solutions, including: increasing the issuance of circulars and detailed and synchronous professional guidelines on health care for the elderly; developing a multi-layered geriatric health network, promoting the role of provincial Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in health care and prevention of chronic diseases in the elderly.
At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen human resource training, include elderly health care content in formal medical education programs and short-term training courses at medical, nursing and social work training facilities; strengthen cooperation between the health sector, social security, and scientific research in building a comprehensive policy framework on population aging and elderly health care; and invest in facilities for grassroots health care (commune/ward health stations).
Source: https://nhandan.vn/bao-dong-ty-le-nguoi-cao-tuoi-mac-cung-luc-benh-chronic-va-beo-phi-o-viet-nam-post926331.html
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