Working together to build a healthy community.

On the morning of May 24th, at the Independence Palace grounds in Ho Chi Minh City, the Health and Life Newspaper, in collaboration with Herbalife Vietnam, organized the 6th Vietnam Community Nutrition Day with the participation of over 3,000 people, healthcare professionals, nutrition coaches, and 20 competing teams.

Opening Ceremony of the 6th Vietnam Community Nutrition Day. (Photo: KHANG ANH)

This year's program continues to affirm the role of scientific nutrition and reasonable exercise in the strategy of improving public health, aiming to build a community that proactively prevents disease through daily habits.

In his keynote address at the program, Distinguished Physician, Professor, Doctor Tran Van Thuan, Deputy Minister of Health and Chairman of the National Medical Council, emphasized the need for a strong shift from a treatment-oriented mindset to a health-preserving one, considering disease prevention as the foundation of a modern healthcare system.

The program opened with a group gymnastics performance.

According to the Deputy Minister, as urban lifestyles lead to less physical activity, increased consumption of processed foods and sugary drinks, and alcohol abuse, non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and stroke are silently on the rise.

Distinguished Physician, Professor, Doctor Tran Van Thuan, Deputy Minister of Health, Chairman of the National Medical Council, delivered a speech.

He argued that health is the only asset that accompanies a person from birth to the end of their life. Therefore, each person must take responsibility for their own body through very ordinary choices such as eating a balanced diet, getting adequate sleep, maintaining physical activity, and controlling their lifestyle.

"Don't wait until you're sick to worry about your health. Prevention lies in your family meals, in your walking shoes, in your sleep, and in how you listen to your body every day," Deputy Minister Thuan shared.

Healthcare professionals participate in the program.

Journalist Tran Tuan Linh, Editor-in-Chief of Health and Life Newspaper.

These messages were concretized by the Deputy Minister himself through personal habits such as jogging for 30-45 minutes every morning, prioritizing the use of stairs, limiting carbohydrates and sweets, and frequently standing up and moving around after long meetings. A healthy lifestyle can be fully achieved through practical daily actions.

According to a warning from the World Health Organization, Vietnam is among the countries with a high rate of sedentary youth, with 91% of girls and 82% of boys failing to meet the minimum recommended daily exercise intake.

This serves as a warning about the risk of declining physical fitness and an increase in metabolic diseases in the future if timely changes are not made by families and the community.

Scenes from the opening ceremony of the health festival.

Speaking on behalf of the organizing committee, journalist Tran Tuan Linh, Editor-in-Chief of the Health and Life Newspaper, stated that one of the major challenges today is the proliferation of misinformation about nutrition on social media.

Many people are drawn to extreme diets, unscientific cleansing methods, or exaggerated advertising of dietary supplements. As a result, many cases lead to hospitalization due to liver failure, kidney failure, or severe metabolic disorders.

Journalist Tran Tuan Linh, Editor-in-Chief of Health and Life Newspaper and Head of the program's organizing committee, delivered a speech.

He emphasized, "Health communication must go straight into real life so that people understand correctly and practice it in the long term." Therefore, the Vietnam Community Nutrition Day has been maintained for six seasons as a visual, lively, and relatable model of health communication.

The program includes exciting activities such as large-scale group gymnastics performances, athletic competitions like Zumba, aerobics, and dancesport, and a nutrition knowledge contest.

The competitions were exciting.

Many young people participated in the program.

In addition, there are 10 health consultation booths, where people can have their biological indicators measured directly by experts, have their calorie needs calculated, receive guidance on reading food labels, and create suitable meal plans.

After the consultation, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu from Saigon Ward shared: "Previously, I exercised out of habit, without paying much attention to nutritional indicators. Today, after the doctor explained it in detail, I understand that effective exercise must be accompanied by a diet suitable for age and physical condition."

Healthcare professionals provide nutritional advice to the public.

The 6th Vietnam Community Nutrition Day continues to spread a positive message: Living healthy is not difficult, but it requires a start; living healthy is not far away, but right in today's choices; living healthy is not just anyone's responsibility, but a joy and a gift we give to ourselves, our families, and our communities.

KHANG ANH

Source: https://nhandan.vn/chung-tay-kien-tao-cong-dong-khoe-manh-post964307.html