BackgroundChildhood obesity may soon be an equally important health threat as undernutrition and infectious diseases. Accurate information about prevalence and risk factors of obesity in children is important for the design of prevention.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to estimate prevalence of overweight and obesity for preschool children in two Vietnamese areas, one urban and one rural, and to identify risk factors.DesignA cross-sectional study was conducted in urban Dong Da and rural Ba Vi districts, Hanoi, Vietnam. Totally, 2,677 children, 1,364 urban and 1,313 rural, were weighed and measured. Caregivers were interviewed. Background information about children and families was obtained from regular household surveys.ResultsThe prevalence of overweight and obesity combined were 21.1% (95% CI 18.9–23.3) in the urban area and 7.6% (95% CI 6.2–9.2) in the rural. Multiple logistic regression revealed that at the individual level, in both sites, the risk increased with increased child age. The identified urban risk factors were being a boy, consuming large amounts of food, eating fast, and indoor activity less than 2 hours per day. The rural risk factors were frequent consumption of fatty food. At the family level, significant association was found in rural areas with frequent watching of food advertisements on television.ConclusionsOverweight and obesity are emerging problems in Vietnam, particularly in the urban context. Prevention programs should focus on education about healthy eating habits at early preschool age and need to be tailored separately for urban and rural areas since the risk factors differ. Non-healthy food advertisement needs to be restricted.

BackgroundA plateau in childhood overweight and obesity has been reported in some developed countries while in almost all developing countries this problem is on the rise. The aim of this paper is to describe the changes in prevalence of overweight and obesity within a cohort of preschool children followed for 3 years, and to estimate and compare the incidences in urban and rural children of Hanoi, Vietnam.MethodsA longitudinal study of a cohort of 2677 children aged 3 to 6 years old at the beginning of the study was conducted in urban DodaLab and rural FilaBavi, Hanoi, Vietnam. Overall, 2602 children, 1311 urban and 1291 rural, were followed for 3 years with identical measurements of weight and height in 2013, 2014 and 2016. Standard methods were used to estimate prevalence and incidence as well as confidence intervals.ResultsDuring the three-year follow-up, the overall estimated prevalence of overweight increased from 9.1% to 16.7%. For the urban children, the increase was considerably higher. The overall prevalence of obesity decreased from 6.4% to 4.5% with less decrease in the urban children. In the group of children who were overweight and obese at the start of the study, 41.4% and 30.7%, respectively, remained in the same state three years later. The incidence of overweight and obesity during the three years were 12.4% and 2.7%, respectively. Boys were more likely to develop obesity than girls.ConclusionsAlready in preschool age, the prevalence of overweight is high and it continues to increase with age, especially in the urban area. Prevention and intervention programs need to start at early preschool age and actions in urban areas deserve priority.

Background: Understanding parents' feeding control practices and their associations with various factors is useful for prevention of childhood obesity, an emerging problem in low-and middle-income countries. The aim of this paper is to describe the control practices used by parents of preschool children in Vietnam and factors associated with these. Methods: Two cross-sectional studies were conducted in urban DodaLab (n = 1364) and rural FilaBavi (n = 1313), Health and Demographic Surveillance Sites (HDSS), Hanoi, Vietnam. For 94.9 % of the children, both parents answered the Child Feeding Questionnaire and additional questions about nutritional practices. Children's and parents' weight and height were measured. Simple Pearson correlation coefficients, multiple regression and exploratory factor analysis were used for the statistical analysis. Results: Mothers reported the use of more restriction, pressure to eat and monitoring than the fathers. The measured child's body mass index (BMI) and the mother's perception of the child's weight were negatively associated with pressure to eat and positively associated with monitoring. A positive association was found between restriction and the mother's perception of the child's weight. In the rural area, high consumption of fatty food, sweets and snacks was associated with high use of restriction and monitoring. The amount of food consumed was negatively associated with the use of pressure to eat. In the urban area, consumption of fatty food and sweets was positively correlated both with restriction and pressure to eat. Monitoring was negatively associated with consumption of fatty food and snacks and positively with the amount of food. Higher education of the mothers was associated with higher use of monitoring, restriction (in the urban area) and pressure to eat (in the rural area). Conclusions: While feeding practices in Vietnam differed between mothers and fathers and between urban and rural areas, the associations with children's BMI and socioeconomic factors were weak. This implies that parental roles as well as sociodemographic factors should be considered when designing programs for prevention of childhood overweight and obesity.

BackgroundChildhood overweight and obesity is a new and emerging problem in Vietnam. The so far observed prevalence increases have pointed to the need for public health intervention strategies with parents as crucial resources for change.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to understand mothers’ conceptions of childhood overweight.DesignFour focus group discussions were conducted with a total of 33 mothers of preschool children, 4–6 years old, living in urban and rural districts of Hanoi, Vietnam. The discussions were audio taped and transcribed verbatim. The obtained data were analyzed using the principles of phenomenography.ResultsFour main categories with 13 subcategories emerged in the process of analysis. The first category, called ‘Concept of overweight’, contained mothers’ views on childhood overweight. A major concern was the negative aspects of overweight such as impaired social interaction and health problems. The second category, ‘Identification of overweight’, described the ways mothers use to recognize overweight in children: own experience, growth chart, and public or health care system's information. The third category, ‘Causes of overweight’, showed mothers’ understanding of factors possibly contributing to overweight development: unhealthy food and lifestyle, genetic susceptibility, parent's lack of knowledge, and limited time to take care of children as well as economic improvement. The fourth category, ‘Management of overweight’, described the ways mothers use to manage a child's weight problem: control of their food intake, increasing their physical activity, and encouraging their child self-control. However, they find such strategies difficult to implement and their intentions are sometimes challenged by the child's grandparents.ConclusionsThe study gives an understanding of the mothers’ conceptions of four important and practically useful aspects of overweight in children. The findings highlight the roles of media and the health care system in enhancing a social awareness of the problem and the need for prevention. Growth charts need to be used more regularly and consciously in child health care for early detection of children at risk and as a tool for information to parents. When designing intervention programs, the entire extended families, especially grandparents and their roles, need to be considered.