Experts warn that stunting, micronutrient deficiencies and rising childhood obesity are exposing gaps in Vietnam’s school feeding system, where menus and facilities vary widely.
Vietnam’s school meal system is under growing pressure as experts warn that the country is dealing with both undernutrition and excess weight at the same time. At a seminar in Nghe An on 10 October, nutrition specialists and education journalists discussed how to standardise school meals and strengthen policies around what children eat during the school day. The event focused on the role of school nutrition in child development and on the gaps that still leave many meals dependent on local practice rather than national rules.
Bui Thi Mai Huong, deputy director of the Centre for Scientific and Technical Services in Nutrition and Food at the National Institute of Nutrition, said school meals are central to children’s physical growth, learning and long-term health. She argued that balanced lunches and breakfasts help stabilise blood sugar, support brain function and reduce the risk of metabolic disease later in life. Her remarks echoed wider evidence that Vietnamese children are facing a complicated nutrition picture, with stunting persisting in poorer regions while overweight and obesity continue to rise in cities.
Data cited by the National Institute of Nutrition show how stark that divide has become. In 2020, the rate of stunting among children under five in the northern mountainous region reached 37.4%, while 26.8% of school-age children in urban areas were overweight or obese. The same data also pointed to serious micronutrient gaps, including vitamin A deficiency at 9.5% and zinc deficiency at 58%. A national nutrition survey covering 2019 to 2020 found that the average height of Vietnamese youths up to age 18 still lagged roughly 9cm to 10cm behind the global average.
Research published in Nature on schoolchildren in Ho Chi Minh City showed a similar pattern of what nutrition researchers call the double burden of malnutrition, where too little and too much food-related risk exist side by side. That study found rising overnutrition among primary school pupils, alongside undernutrition in older students. A separate 2024 study of Vietnamese adolescent girls reported high levels of overweight, stunting and thinness in the same population, reinforcing the view that nutrition policy must address both ends of the spectrum at once.
Huong said the weaknesses in school feeding begin with the lack of a legally binding national technical standard for school nutrition. In many schools, she said, menu planning still relies on the experience of catering staff or outside meal providers, rather than on clear nutritional benchmarks. As a result, many meals fall short of recommended intakes for calcium, vitamin A and vitamin D. She also noted that schools generally lack dedicated nutrition officers, leaving school health staff to handle menu design, food safety oversight and student health monitoring alongside other duties.
The infrastructure problem is just as serious, especially in remote and disadvantaged areas, where schools often do not have proper kitchen layouts, clean water or storage equipment. Huong called for formal school nutrition standards that would limit free sugars, salt and saturated fats in meals, while also pushing for digital tools, more specialised staff, stable funding and stronger co-ordination between the education, health and local government sectors. She said poorer areas need targeted financial support to upgrade kitchens and guarantee that pupils receive safe, nutritious meals.
Ha Thi Phuong of the TH Nutrition Institute said a pilot programme on balanced school meals combined with increased physical activity has already been run across 10 provinces and cities, with 400 menus adapted to local ecological, economic and dietary conditions. The model, developed by TH Group with the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Health and the Nutrition Institute during the 2020-2021 school year, is intended to show how school meals can be aligned with both nutrition science and local food culture. The broader argument from experts is that schools, families, health workers and regulators all need to play a role if Vietnam is to narrow its nutrition gaps and improve the health of the next generation.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
