Having spent time in different continents throughout my life, obesity is one of those things that occur so often that I’ve turned a blind eye to it.
Not until I visited this country where I realized no matter where I went, I just can’t seem to bump into anyone that’s overweight or obese.
Turns out, this country had the lowest obesity rate in the world in 2022 at only 1.67%. Out of 100 people, you’d likely see only one obese person!
Comparing that to the US provides a stark contrast, as the obesity rate is more than 40%!
In this article, I’m going to share what that country is and what’s unique about their lifestyle that contributes to these statistics.
Introducing the country with the lowest obesity rates
Vietnam.
A country in the far east, located specifically in Southeast Asia, is consistently one of the countries with the lowest obesity rate in the world.
After traveling the country for a bit and reading more on its history, here are 3 main reasons why they can achieve this.
1. Vietnamese diet
The main Vietnamese carbohydrate is often rice or rice noodles, which are healthy carbohydrates packed with natural sugar. Their protein options are also often lean with minimal fat.
Some of the staple Vietnamese dishes are Pho, which is a noodle soup dish with your choice of protein, or Bahn Mi, a baguette filled with a protein of your choice.
What else do you notice about the photos of the dishes above? That’s right, it’s filled with vegetables.
When I was in Vietnam, every single meal was served with a plate full of vegetables.
But they don’t eat these vegetables for the sake of eating them; they’re actually part of the dish. In fact, most of the vegetables are actually herbs with fresh flavours such as basil, mint, or coriander.
I found myself eating every bite of my food with some form of vegetable. With that amount of fibre in my daily intake, I was easily satiated every meal and didn’t find myself hungry easily!
Credit: Vietnam Coracle
2. Food accessibility
With that said, these healthy Vietnamese staples were cheap and can be easily found anywhere.
Compared to processed junk food like McDonald’s, they didn’t stand a chance.
A bowl of Pho costs around $1.50, while a McChicken costs almost $3.00!
Most of this also comes down to the fact that Vietnam is one of the biggest players in the agriculture sector, so fresh food is properly appreciated in their culture and daily life!
3. Activity level
Another thing that I realised was that the Vietnamese are more physically active.
In major cities like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh, people walk to most places, and if not, they’re on their motorcycles instead of cars.
In fact, Vietnam is one of the countries with the most motorcycle population; it’s such a nightmare to cross the roads!
Credit: Vietnam Insider
It was definitely interesting to discover this side of the world and to share it with you. I hope you learned a bit more about the world today and perhaps you could take home a thing or two about the Vietnamese’s healthy lifestyle!
On a side note, I love Vietnamese food. Give it a go if you haven’t already 🙂