NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF THE PATIENTS VISITED THE NUTRITION COUNSELLING CENTER OF VIETNAM NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NUTRITION

Aims: To determine the nutritional status of patients who visited the Nutrition Counselling Center of the National Institue of Nutrition. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 431 patients who visited for nutrition counseling at the Department of Adult Nutrition Consultation, National Institute of Nutrition from May 2021 to April 2022. Nutritional status was classified using criteria for Asians. Results: The rates of chronic energy deficiency, overweight, and obesity were  29.7, 13.5, and 3.7%, respectively. The rates of overweight and obesity were respectively 21.9% and 6.1% in men; and 10.4% and 2.8% in women. The rate of overweight and obesity was higher in men (28%) compared to women (13.2%), while the rate of chronic energy deficiency (CED) was lower in men (22.8%) than that in women (32.2%) (p <0.05). The rate of obesity and CED was highest in the 20-29 age group, then decreased with age. The rates of overweight, obesity and CED were respectively 13.2, 3.7, and 25.4% in city; and 13.8, 3.8, and 37.1% in contryside. Conclusions: The study indicates the alarming rate of obesity and CED in young age group. The similar rate of overweight and obesity in city and contryside while there was significant difference of CED rate between the two regions.