Living in sunny areas, why are Vietnamese people still lacking vitamin D?

Despite being located in a sunny area, vitamin D deficiency is becoming more and more common in Vietnam. Vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of a series of diseases.

The workshop attracted the participation of many reporters from leading hospitals such as Cho Ray Hospital, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital - Photo: TT

On October 25, Hoan My Saigon Hospital held the 2025 Annual Scientific Conference with the theme "Comprehensive approach and new technology in modern medicine".

Dr. Tran Thi Minh Hanh - Head of the Nutrition Department of Hoan My Saigon Hospital - said that vitamin D plays an essential role in bone health and the immune system, and also contributes to the prevention of chronic diseases and infections.

Although Vietnam is a sunny country, many people today have little exposure to sunlight, leading to an increasingly common vitamin D deficiency. The deficiency rate is up to about 50% of the population, especially in women, and appears in almost all ages.

According to Dr. Hanh, vitamin D is found in very little food and is mainly synthesized through the skin when exposed directly to sunlight. When the skin is exposed to UVB rays, pre-vitamin D is converted into vitamin D and released into the blood for the body to use.

People who are prone to vitamin D deficiency include: women who regularly use sunscreen and cover up when going out; office workers who have little exposure to sunlight; elderly people whose ability to synthesize vitamin D is reduced; children and students with busy schedules who rarely play outdoors...

Vitamin D deficiency causes bone loss, osteoporosis, and metabolic syndrome.

Several recent review studies have confirmed the role of vitamin D in chronic non-communicable diseases, reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes and its complications.

Vitamin D also plays an important role in fighting infections. A deficiency increases the risk and severity of acute respiratory infections; supports cancer prevention...

Dr. Hanh recommends that vitamin D is considered a "heaven-sent vitamin", meaning we don't need to buy it, just need to get enough sunlight to synthesize it.

Therefore, you only need to sunbathe for 5-10 minutes a day, especially between 10am and 3pm, so that your body can synthesize enough vitamin D.

In special cases (sick people, the elderly, children, office workers), you should consult a doctor to supplement vitamin D in the right dose to avoid deficiency or excess.

Note that if you cannot get enough sun exposure, you can take oral vitamin D supplements, but only under the direction of a doctor, because vitamin D is fat-soluble, easily accumulates, and is not excreted.

At the conference, leading experts from major hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City such as Cho Ray Hospital, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, and doctors from Hoan My Saigon Hospital introduced 31 in-depth research topics, covering many important fields such as: cardiovascular, digestive, endoscopy, orthopedic trauma...

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Bao Long - Director of Hoan My Saigon Hospital - said that by 2025, the hospital had made great strides in developing comprehensive treatment capacity according to international standards by achieving many international standards.

In particular, by 2025 the hospital will also be using clinical decision support software. This is of particular importance in the digital transformation of modern medicine.

The software acts as an "intelligent assistant" to help doctors make accurate, timely and evidence-based decisions.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/song-o-vung-nhieu-nang-vi-sao-nguoi-viet-nam-van-thieu-vitamin-d-20251025163554336.htm