Prevalence and variation of underweight and overweight among adult population in Thai Nguyen province of Vietnam

Overweight and obesity prevalence is increasing worldwide both in developed and developing countries. In the United States, obesity increased for both sexes, as well as across ages, and ethnicities [1]. In 2008, 33.9% of American adults was obese and 34.4% was overweight [2]. Moreover in 2010, there was no state in the United States that had a prevalence of obesity less than 20% [3]. In 2010, 18.1% of Canadians aged 18 and older reported height and weight that classified them as obese; in addition, 41.1% men and 27.2% women were overweight [4]. In European countries, the prevalence of obesity was about 10% and the overweight prevalence was 36.6% and 25.6% among men and women [5]. Individuals in the United Kingdom had the highest prevalence of obesity (12%), while Italians, French and Swedes had the lowest levels of obesity (about 7%) [5]. In Asia, the prevalence of overweight and obesity were lower than the North of America. The prevalence rate of overweight and obesity among Chinese adults were 21.51% and 2.92% respectively, with higher prevalence seen in the north than in the south, more in females than in males, and more in older age than in younger [6]. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among Thai adults was 31.5% and 7.8% (2003) [7]. In Malaysia, overweight and obesity prevalence were 41.1% and 14.4% (2003) [7].