VietNamNet Bridge - While the proportion of underweight malnutrition decreased steadily over the years, the number of children who do not reach the standard height is still high, the National Institute of Nutrition has announced.

In 2013, Vietnam continued to see the decline in the proportion of children of under 5 who were malnourished.

Specifically, the children who are underweight for their age were only about 15 percent; the children who were shorter than standard height were nearly 26 percent. Kon Tum province has the highest indexes in the country, especially the rate of stunted children up to nearly 41 percent.

According to the National Institute of Nutrition, more than 6 percent of children were overweight and obese in 2013.

This rate was particularly high in Hanoi, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa, Binh Duong and particularly HCM City, with nearly 16 percent.

Stunting malnutrition is also known as chronic malnutrition and it causes major implications for physical stature, endurance and mental development of children in the future, even lasts for generations. Stunted mothers can have malnourished and stunted babies.

Xuan Hai