Vietnam Recommended Dietary Allowances 2007

It has been well acknowledged that Vietnam is undergoing a nutrition transition. With a rapid change in the country’s reform and economic growth, food supply at the macronutrient level has improved. Changes of the Vietnamese diet include significantly more foods of animal origin, and an increase of fat/oils, and ripe fruits.

Consequently, nutritional problems in Vietnam now include not only malnutrition but also overweight/obesity, metabolic syndrome and other chronic diseases related to nutrition and lifestyles. The recognition of these shifts, which is also associated with morbidity and mortality, was a major factor in the need to review and update the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for the Vietnamese population. This revised RDA established an important science-based tool for evaluation of nutrition adequacy, for teaching, and for scientific communications within Vietnam. It is expected that the 2007 Vietnam RDA and its conversion to food-based dietary guidelines will facilitate education to the public, as well as the policy implementation of programs for prevention of noncommunicable chronic diseases and addressing the double burden of both under and over nutrition.