Tracking a decade of food system transformation in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta: production, consumption, and nutrition

Global deltas, including Vietnam’s Mekong River Delta (MRD), are fertile, densely populated, and vital for food production, yet their low-lying terrain leaves them highly vulnerable to climate change. By utilizing national data from the Vietnam Household Living Standards Surveys (VHLSS), Statistical...

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Autores principales: Hoang, Ky The, Ignowski, Liz, Tuan, Mai Phuong, Belton, Ben, Duong, Thanh Thi, Nguyen, Quoc Minh, Nguyen, Son Duy, Truong, Tuyet Mai, Dinh Thi Thanh, Phuong, Murshed-e-Jahan, Khondker, Huynh, Thi Thanh Tuyen
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: FRONTIERS MEDIA 2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179485
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author Hoang, Ky The
Ignowski, Liz
Tuan, Mai Phuong
Belton, Ben
Duong, Thanh Thi
Nguyen, Quoc Minh
Nguyen, Son Duy
Truong, Tuyet Mai
Dinh Thi Thanh, Phuong
Murshed-e-Jahan, Khondker
Huynh, Thi Thanh Tuyen
author_browse Belton, Ben
Dinh Thi Thanh, Phuong
Duong, Thanh Thi
Hoang, Ky The
Huynh, Thi Thanh Tuyen
Ignowski, Liz
Murshed-e-Jahan, Khondker
Nguyen, Quoc Minh
Nguyen, Son Duy
Truong, Tuyet Mai
Tuan, Mai Phuong
author_facet Hoang, Ky The
Ignowski, Liz
Tuan, Mai Phuong
Belton, Ben
Duong, Thanh Thi
Nguyen, Quoc Minh
Nguyen, Son Duy
Truong, Tuyet Mai
Dinh Thi Thanh, Phuong
Murshed-e-Jahan, Khondker
Huynh, Thi Thanh Tuyen
author_sort Hoang, Ky The
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Global deltas, including Vietnam’s Mekong River Delta (MRD), are fertile, densely populated, and vital for food production, yet their low-lying terrain leaves them highly vulnerable to climate change. By utilizing national data from the Vietnam Household Living Standards Surveys (VHLSS), Statistical Year Books (SYB), and General Nutrition Surveys (GNS), this study examines the changes in food production, consumption patterns, diet, and nutrition in the region from 2010 to 2020. The MRD remains the largest food production region in the country across all food groups, with output far exceeding local nutrient needs, yet paradoxically exhibits the second lowest dietary diversity nationally. Agricultural production has shifted from staples toward fruit and aquatic products, but a critical production-consumption disconnect driven by market orientation has led diets toward more animal-source foods, sugar-sweetened products, and food away from home (FAFH). While nutrient adequacy improved in energy, protein, and retinol, it declined in calcium, and household consumption of self-produced food dropped dramatically across all food groups. The dietary transition contributed to substantial improvements in child nutrition status in all forms, with stunting rates decreasing by nearly 16%, underweight by 10%, and wasting by 4%. However, it also led to the highest increases in overweight and obesity rates nationally, rising threefold among children aged 6-19 years (23.8%) and adults (34% for both men and women), with sugar-sweetened beverage consumption increasing fourfold. This production-consumption paradox in which agricultural abundance coexists with poor dietary quality, demonstrates the limitations of production-focused policies and underscores the urgent need for integrated food system approaches that align production with sustainable, healthy diets under the pressures of climate change and urbanization.
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publishDate 2025
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spelling CGSpace1794852026-01-08T02:03:34Z Tracking a decade of food system transformation in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta: production, consumption, and nutrition Hoang, Ky The Ignowski, Liz Tuan, Mai Phuong Belton, Ben Duong, Thanh Thi Nguyen, Quoc Minh Nguyen, Son Duy Truong, Tuyet Mai Dinh Thi Thanh, Phuong Murshed-e-Jahan, Khondker Huynh, Thi Thanh Tuyen food systems nutrition consumer behaviour comportamiento del consumidor sistema alimentario mekong river producción alimentaria nutrición food production Global deltas, including Vietnam’s Mekong River Delta (MRD), are fertile, densely populated, and vital for food production, yet their low-lying terrain leaves them highly vulnerable to climate change. By utilizing national data from the Vietnam Household Living Standards Surveys (VHLSS), Statistical Year Books (SYB), and General Nutrition Surveys (GNS), this study examines the changes in food production, consumption patterns, diet, and nutrition in the region from 2010 to 2020. The MRD remains the largest food production region in the country across all food groups, with output far exceeding local nutrient needs, yet paradoxically exhibits the second lowest dietary diversity nationally. Agricultural production has shifted from staples toward fruit and aquatic products, but a critical production-consumption disconnect driven by market orientation has led diets toward more animal-source foods, sugar-sweetened products, and food away from home (FAFH). While nutrient adequacy improved in energy, protein, and retinol, it declined in calcium, and household consumption of self-produced food dropped dramatically across all food groups. The dietary transition contributed to substantial improvements in child nutrition status in all forms, with stunting rates decreasing by nearly 16%, underweight by 10%, and wasting by 4%. However, it also led to the highest increases in overweight and obesity rates nationally, rising threefold among children aged 6-19 years (23.8%) and adults (34% for both men and women), with sugar-sweetened beverage consumption increasing fourfold. This production-consumption paradox in which agricultural abundance coexists with poor dietary quality, demonstrates the limitations of production-focused policies and underscores the urgent need for integrated food system approaches that align production with sustainable, healthy diets under the pressures of climate change and urbanization. 2025-12-16 2026-01-07T14:38:53Z 2026-01-07T14:38:53Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179485 en Open Access application/pdf FRONTIERS MEDIA Hoang, K.T.; Ignowski, L.; Tuan, M.P.; Belton, B.; Duong, T.T.; Nguyen, Q.M.; Nguyen, S.D.; Truong, T.M.; Dinh Thi Thanh, P.; Murshed-e-Jahan, K.; Huynh, T.T.T. (2025) Tracking a decade of food system transformation in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta: production, consumption, and nutrition. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 9: 1687849. ISSN: 2571-581X
spellingShingle food systems
nutrition
consumer behaviour
comportamiento del consumidor
sistema alimentario
mekong river
producción alimentaria
nutrición
food production
Hoang, Ky The
Ignowski, Liz
Tuan, Mai Phuong
Belton, Ben
Duong, Thanh Thi
Nguyen, Quoc Minh
Nguyen, Son Duy
Truong, Tuyet Mai
Dinh Thi Thanh, Phuong
Murshed-e-Jahan, Khondker
Huynh, Thi Thanh Tuyen
Tracking a decade of food system transformation in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta: production, consumption, and nutrition
title Tracking a decade of food system transformation in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta: production, consumption, and nutrition
title_full Tracking a decade of food system transformation in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta: production, consumption, and nutrition
title_fullStr Tracking a decade of food system transformation in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta: production, consumption, and nutrition
title_full_unstemmed Tracking a decade of food system transformation in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta: production, consumption, and nutrition
title_short Tracking a decade of food system transformation in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta: production, consumption, and nutrition
title_sort tracking a decade of food system transformation in vietnam s mekong delta production consumption and nutrition
topic food systems
nutrition
consumer behaviour
comportamiento del consumidor
sistema alimentario
mekong river
producción alimentaria
nutrición
food production
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179485
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