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Obesity Among Vietnamese Rises Even as They Search for Healthful Food

Ha Nguyen

   HO CHI MINH CITY - There's a familiar trend of fast food chains like
   KFC and Burger King entering developing countries, where citizens start
   to see obesity rates increase amid all the new junk food options.

   This is not that story, at least in Vietnam. The junk food trend has
   certainly come to Vietnam already, but now there's an even newer trend
   in the country, and it's the definition of irony: more Vietnamese
   citizens are looking for food products that are healthful -- only to
   end up with products that are anything but that.

   A Vietnam food puzzle

   Sugar is the ingredient that perhaps best exemplifies this irony. The
   problem is not that Vietnamese are eating large amounts of candy and
   ice cream, though some are doing that. Instead, they're buying products
   like fruit juices and yogurt, not realizing that all the added sugar
   may outweigh the health benefits of the fruit. Products are packaged in
   labels that appeal to citizens' health goals.

   This is part of a broader change across Vietnam, where companies are
   selling more ready-to-eat meals and processed foods to citizens who
   used to buy vegetables and eggs directly from farms. The change is
   leading to obvious business opportunities. For instance, the Nutifood
   Nutrition Food Joint Stock Company recently got an expected debt rating
   of B+ from Fitch Ratings, which predicts the company will profit from
   more Vietnamese buying health foods.

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