Why Vietnamese people are thin

Overview

When mentioning Vietnam, many people around the world often think of a country that is poor, backward and mired in war. However, Vietnam today has gradually transformed, becoming a peaceful, modern and beautiful country. Many people who come to Vietnam are surprised by this rapid change. Vietnamese people are not only friendly and hospitable, but everyone looks beautiful. They wonder Why Vietnamese people are thin? or why is there no obesity in Vietnam? There are some reasons for this, so in this blog, the Best Vietnam Tours Operator will compile useful information for you to know.

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Vietnamese girl in Ao Dai Dress

A myth

Many people from other countries think that Vietnamese people are thin due to the lengthened war and poverty. Vietnamese people don’t have enough food to eat, so they are small, short and skinny. However, this is not the explanation for Why Vietnamese people are thin. The war was the story of 48 years ago, and Vietnam is a developing country now. Vietnam's GDP Annual Growth Rate ranged from 6.20 percent on average from 2000 to 2023, with highs of 13.71 percent in the third quarter of 2022 and lows of -6.02 percent in the third quarter of 2021. Moreover, Vietnam is currently the country with the third largest rice export output in the world with a solid foundation as a country developed from wet rice civilization. Therefore, understanding Vietnam as a poor and famine country is such a misunderstanding. Vietnamese people are thin because of many reasons, which will be presented below.

Why Vietnamese people are thin

Eating style

The key to answering Why Vietnamese people are thin is placed in the Vietnamese peolple 's eating style. Vietnamese people prefer light diets to rich and over nutritious ones. The Vietnamese people's diet is low in calories. Almost no food contains a lot of grease or chili sauce. Instead, many foods are eaten with fish sauce - the most popular dipping sauce in Vietnamese cuisine. Vietnamese meals have many vegetables and seafood. Boiled vegetables is the dish that is indispensable in Vietnamese daily meals. Besides, seafood, which is nutritious, has a reasonable price in Vietnam (because the Vietnamese coastline stretches about 2360 km), so they can easily buy and add them into their meals.

The way they cook can also explain why Vietnamese people are thin. They like cooking for themselves and their family, rather than eating out - which is more hygienic. Common ways to cook are boiling, steaming and making soups. Most dishes laid on the table can not lack boil or soup stuff. If they stir-fry food, they just add a little oil in the beginning. If they fry fish or meat, they will use paper to absorb the unnecessary oil. The way Vietnamese people season their food is also worth mentioning. They tend to use light seasoning spices such as Nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish sauce), salt, pepper,... but in a small amount in order to retain the natural flavor of the ingredients. Some dishes have super simple recipes such as Nem Cuon, Pho Cuon,.... You just need to roll all ingredients together to have the completed product, no need for cooking. 

Vietnamese food is healthy and balanced. Vietnamese people always try to stick to the yin yang rule -  a food principle not only to ensure the aesthetic, but also the healthiness of the dish. According to this rule, each dish must have both ingredients presenting yin and ingredients presenting yang, to create the balance. For example, pho cuon is a yin yang balanced Vietnamese dish, in which shrimp (yin) goes along with pork sausages (yang), being added vegetables and herbs (yin) then dipped into fish sauce (yang). Not a few dishes abide by this rule. No wonder, Vietnamese food is very healthy and balanced.

Vietnamese people like eating fruits and Vietnam is the very paradise of fruits. Vietnam is located in the area of wet heat monsoon tropical climate, which is favorable for flora including fruits to grow. Therefore, Vietnam has not only rare fruits that can not be found in many countries, but is also abundant all year round. If the peach, guava season has just gone by, the longan, lychee and plum season comes. Fruits are famous for being rich in fiber and vitamins, so Vietnamese people being thin can be attributed to the habit of eating many fruits.

Lifestyle

Having a light lifestyle is another reason for Why Vietnamese people are thin. In Vietnam, the pace of life is very slow and people enjoy life very much. Everywhere along the road there are small tea shops with a few tables and chairs and a plate of melon seeds. You can chat all day there. Most people do not have pressure to borrow money from banks to buy houses and cars. At night you can see local people having fun in the park. On walking streets, you will easily see people walking around, eating, playing games, and taking photos. They seem to shake off all the worries and work pressures of the day to enjoy this moment. Less rush, less stress means more health. Many people tend to consume a great amount of food when they feel stressed. At least, they won't sneak a bunch of food into themselves because of too much pressure, instead, they will go out and wander to let their hair down. Not to mention, many people have the habit of doing exercise, jogging or cycling in the park, walking streets or pavements. Especially in every morning and afternoon, you can easily encounter this positive lifestyle contributing to the vivid picture of the city. Combined with a healthy diet, Vietnamese people can effectively stay in shape.

Beauty standard

In Vietnamese people's opinion, having good shape is very important, especially to women. Vietnamese people have a famous idiom: Nhất dáng nhì da, which means, to be considered beautiful, the most important factor is to have a good body shape, the second is to possess a smooth white skin. Hence, children in this country are taught that staying in shape means being pretty at an early age. Growing older, they will watch what they eat themselves and they often compare themselves with their peers. Uniform in many schools is “ao dai” - the traditional dress of Vietnamese women, which is made of white and thin silk, easily flattering the shape of every girl. So to have the best looking, they need to stay in shape. This is also the reason for Why Vietnamese people are thin.

Delicious and cheap street food

Vietnam is the paradise of delectable food, which is famous for being healthy and balanced. Even street food, which is commonly supposed to be unhealthy; nevertheless, Vietnamese street food isn’t unhealthy. For example, Pho, Bun rieu (vermicelli with crab paste), banh mi, com tam (steamed broken rice with toppings),... are popular street foods in Vietnam. They are not only mouth-watering and nutritious but are also very cheap (ranging from $0.5 to $2 per dish). This is the reason why, worldwide well known fast food branches such as KFC, Burger King, McDonald's, whose food is rich in calories and fat... can not thrive in Vietnam. People from other countries think that, because Vietnam is too poor and Vietnamese people can not afford a meal at these famous fast food restaurants, these branches are not as popular as in other countries. However, they don’t know that Vietnamese people prefer Vietnamese fast food, which are sold by vendors along streets or paths. These dishes are not only cheaper, but also healthier and more delicious. Hence, Vietnamese people eat a lot of street food, but they don’t put on much weight. Now you understand Why Vietnamese people are thin, don’t you?

Conclusion

Are you satisfied with the explanations about Why Vietnamese people are thin that we brought forward below? We hope that this information is helpful to you. Thanks for watching!