Nutritional status of students aged 11-14 years at six lower secondary schools in Nha Be district, Ho Chi Minh city in 2024

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the nutritional status of students aged 11-14 years at six lower secondary schools in Nha Be District, Ho Chi Minh City, in 2024. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among students aged 11-14 years. Anthropometric measurements were performed to evaluate the nutritional status of children based on the World Health Organization (WHO) 2007 growth reference Z-scores for children and adolescents aged 10 to 19 years. Results: The prevalence of stunting was very low at 1.84%, with severe stunting accounting for only 0.21%. Wasting was also rare, with an overall prevalence of 2.2%. In contrast, the prevalence of overweight and obesity was notably high, at 41.5 and 29.1%, respectively. The prevalence of overweight was similar between boys (41.6%) and girls (41.4%). However, the prevalence of obesity among boys (36.8%) was more than twice as high as that among girls (18.1%) (p<0.05). The height-for-age Z-score growth chart showed a rightward shift, although the peak remained lower than the WHO growth standard, particularly among male students. In contrast, the BMI-for-age Z-score chart showed a pronounced rightward shift for both boys and girls, with values exceeding the WHO standard, indicating a significant trend toward overnutrition.