Regional clustering of anthropometric dimensions of primary school children in rural and suburban Vietnam

Nutrition transition is one of the driving forces of the upcoming global epidemic of diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases. We hypothesized that in previously deprived rapidly changing regions, the progress of the obesity epidemic is clustered per community and that screening with anthropometric school surveys can detect the negative effects of the nutrition transition in its early stages. In 16 different rural and urban communities in Binh Thuan Province, southern Vietnam, anthropometric surveys were conducted in local primary schools. Anthropometry of 2613 children showed a significant difference of the prevalence of wasting, stunting, and overweight between urban and rural communities. During the transition from high stunting rates to overweight, communities pass through an episode with dual burden of both conditions at different pace. Anthropometry of primary school children can reveal inter-community differences and identify the early stages of the nutrition transition.