Strengthening management and monitoring of overweight and obese children

*Monitoring body mass index and height-for-age index in parallel is necessary to comprehensively assess children's growth status and detect potential risks early. Photo: LE HUNG*

The rate of overweight and obesity is increasing

A survey of 3,005 students at 15 secondary schools conducted by the city's Center for Disease Control (CDC) within the framework of the "Child-friendly City Project - Da Nang City, period 2023 - 2026" showed that the general overweight and obesity rate of secondary school students is 33.5%, of which the overweight rate is 21.7% and the obesity rate is 11.8%.

According to a study by the Department of Nutrition (Da Nang Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital) on the current status of overweight and obesity in children aged 2-11 years old who came for examination, the result was that the rate of overweight and obesity was 16.3%, of which the rate of obesity was 5.8% and overweight was 10.5%.

Obesity not only causes many difficulties for the patient, but also creates a significant burden on the health system due to a series of accompanying diseases. Worryingly, many children are judged and scorned for being overweight or obese in their daily lives, damaging their mental health and self-esteem, which can affect their personality when they grow up.

According to experts, primary school is the highest risk stage, when children begin to form eating habits, are exposed to more energy-rich foods but gradually reduce physical activities.

Therefore, it is necessary to focus on children aged 6-10 years old, to have timely impacts on nutrition and exercise. Schools and families need to monitor both body mass index (BMI) and height-for-age index (HAZ) in parallel to comprehensively assess children's growth status, early detection of potential risks.

Overweight and obesity can be prevented and controlled by measures such as: limiting consumption of sugary drinks and energy-rich foods; practicing a healthy lifestyle and appropriate physical activity...

Treating overweight and obesity is difficult and expensive, so good prevention will yield encouraging and cost-effective results, as well as reduce the disease burden.

Capacity building for school health

Identifying overweight and obesity as an alarming health problem with an increasing trend among school-age children, Da Nang pays special attention to health care and nutrition counseling for children.

The Da Nang City Center for Disease Control organized a training course on preventing and combating overweight and obesity in children for school health workers and grassroots nutrition workers. Photo: LE HUNG

According to the leaders of the Department of Health, every year, the health sector proactively coordinates with the education sector to carry out periodic health check-ups for children, thereby promptly detecting children at risk of being overweight and obese, helping schools and families to come up with more appropriate and comprehensive plans for child care and nutrition.

In particular, implementing the Project "Child-friendly City - Da Nang City, phase 2023 - 2026" sponsored by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF Vietnam), CDC Da Nang continuously organizes training courses on consulting, evaluating, managing and monitoring student nutrition data for school health workers and grassroots nutrition workers.

This activity aims to improve the capacity of health workers in early detection, counseling and monitoring of students' nutritional status, contributing to the prevention of overweight and obesity. Thereby, creating a healthy living environment and raising awareness of proper nutrition, contributing to reducing the risk of overweight and obesity in children.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/tang-cuong-quan-ly-va-theo-doi-tinh-trang-tre-thua-can-beo-phi-3309323.html