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Objective:To describe the household intakes of retinol and carotenoids and social economic factors determining their intakes.Subjects:Data on a total of 1001 households (771 in rural areas and 230 in urban areas) were used in the analyses. Interviewed person was household food preparer.Results:Mean (s.d.) intake of carotenoids was 4178 (3154) μg/capita/day in rural and 4208 (3408) μg/capita/day in urban areas and intake of retinol was 101 (275) μg/capita/day in rural and 201 (470) μg/capita/day in urban areas. Multivariate analyses show that the subjects in households with four or more members consume about 700 μg carotenoids less compared to households with less than three members. Households with a higher expenditure (fourth quartile) consumed about 100 μg retinol/day more than those with a lower expenditure (first quartile).Conclusion:Carotenoids from plant food sources is the main source of vitamin A intake of the population and its main determinants are household expenditure and size of household. Food fortification and dietary diversification with special emphasis on promotion of consumption of animal foods should be key strategies for overcoming vitamin A deficiency in Vietnam.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2008) 62, 810–816; doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602782; published online 11 July 2007 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective:To evaluate the FAO/WHO/UNU equations for predicting resting metabolic rate (RMR) in Vietnamese adolescents.Design:A cross-sectional study involving healthy subjects was carried out at the Basic Nutrition Department, National Institute of Nutrition, Vietnam. The RMR was measured by indirect calorimetry and anthropometric indices were recorded. Equations derived by linear regression of RMR and body weight were compared to the FAO/WHO/UNU (1985) predictive equations.Subjects:A total of 110 subjects who had normal body mass index (5–85 percentile) and divided into two groups by sex.Results:Mean RMRs (MJ/kg/day) were 0.1146±0.0054 for males and 0.1062±0.0103 for females. Compared to the FAO/WHO/UNU equation, our findings were 7.8% and 11.7% lower in the two groups, respectively (P<0.001).Conclusion:Our findings suggest that the FAO/WHO/UNU equations may overestimate RMR in Vietnamese adolescents. Further studies on establishing reference of daily energy needs for Vietnamese adolescents should be carried out.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2007) 61, 1075–1080; doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602629; published online 31 January 2007 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective:To evaluate the FAO/WHO/UNU equations for predicting resting metabolic rate (RMR) in Vietnamese adults.Design:A cross-sectional study with healthy subjects was carried out at the Basic Nutrition Department, National Institute of Nutrition, Vietnam. RMR was measured by indirect calorimetry, and anthropometric indices were recorded. Equations derived by linear regression of RMR vs body weight were compared to the FAO/WHO/UNU 1985 predictive equations.Subjects:A total of 188 subjects (98 males and 90 females) had a normal body mass index (BMI) and were divided into four groups by sex and age (male and female subjects 18–29 and 30–60 y old).Results:Mean RMR (MJ/kg/day) in males was lightly significant by higher than that in female subjects in the 18–29 y old age group (0.1074±0.0100 vs 0.0965±0.0123) and the same result was seen in the 30–60 y old group (0.1018±0.0114 vs 0.0922±0.0129). However, differences were not statistically significant in the two age groups. Compared to the FAO/WHO/UNU equation, our findings were 7.4, 9.0, 11.7, and 13.5% lower in the four groups, respectively (P<0.001).Conclusion:Our findings suggest that the FAO/WHO/UNU equations may overestimate RMR in Vietnamese adults. Further studies examining the relationship between body weight and RMR are needed, and establishing new predictive equations for RMR in Vietnamese should be a priority.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2005) 59, 1099–1104. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602199; published online 6 July 2005 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective:To evaluate the effect of combined iron–zinc supplementation on micronutrient status, growth and morbidity.Design:Randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled supplementation trial.Setting:Rural district of Que Vo, in the Red River Delta in Vietnam.Subjects:A total of 915 breast-fed infants aged 4–7 months were included and 784 completed the study.Interventions:The Fe-group received daily and for a 6-month period 10 mg of iron, the Zn-group 10 mg zinc, the Fe–Zn group 10 mg iron+10 mg zinc and the placebo group a placebo. Hemoglobin (Hb), serum ferritin (SF) and zinc (SZn), and anthropometry were measured before and at the end of the intervention. Morbidity was recorded daily.Results:Changes of Hb and SF were higher in both Fe and Fe+Zn groups (respectively 22.6 and 20.6 g/l for Hb; 36.0 and 24.8 μg/l for SF) compared to Zn and placebo groups (Hb: 6.4 and 9.8 g/l; SF: −18.2 and −16.9 μg/l, P<0.0001). SZn increased more in Zn group (10.3 μmol/l) than in Fe+Zn group (8.0 μmol/l, P=0.03) and more in these groups compared to Fe and placebo groups (1.6 and 1.2 μmol/l, P<0.0001). Weight gain was higher in the Zn group. No significant effects of supplementations on growth in length or morbidity.Conclusions:Combined iron–zinc supplementation had a positive effect on iron and zinc status in infants. However, the positive effect of zinc alone on SZn and weight would indicate a negative interaction of iron when added to zinc supplements.Sponsorship:UNICEF New York.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2006) 60, 443–454. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602336; published online 23 November 2005 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]