Roger Mathisen says the government cannot spend the same amount of money on campaigns as private companies can. But he says the government can set in place rules that help improve public health. For example, medical workers generally support use of drugs because health insurance companies pay for such treatments. But Mr. Mathisen says the government could amend rules so that medical workers would urge mothers to breast-feed their children instead of giving them a milk-based product.
Increased amounts of food are not the only reason more and more people in Vietnam are becoming overweight. Many people are moving to cities from rural areas. That means they are much less physically active than they were. Many people who once worked on farms are now working in offices. In 2011, Vietnam’s General Statistics Office reported that “the obesity rate in urban areas is three times greater than in rural areas.” It said the rate was 8 percent in cities and 3.1 percent in the countryside.