High prevalence of overweight among adolescents in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam

A representative sample of 1,989 students aged 11--14 years was selected using a multistage cluster sampling method. 23 schools were randomly selected from the full list of all public junior high schools. In each selected school, 2 classes were chosen at random and all students from the class were examined. Age- and sex-adjusted overweight and obesity were defined using International Obesity Taskforce cut-offs.The prevalences of overweight and obesity were 17.8% and 3.2% , respectively. Prevalences of overweight and obesity were significantly higher in boys (22% , 5.4% ) than in girls (13.3% , 1.3% , p<0.001) and higher in children from districts with a high economic level (20.5% , 3.8% ) than in those from districts with a low economic level (12.1% , 3.8% , p<0.001). Additionally, children living in wealthier families were more overweight and obese than those living in less wealthy families. When using WHO cutoffs, the overall prevalences of overweight and obesity reached 19.6% and 7.9% , respectively.Our study's findings suggest that the prevalence of overweight and obesity among secondary school students remains high, especially among boys living in wealthier families. Public health programs should therefore be developed or improved in order to promote good eating habits and physical activity among youth in HCMC.