Nutritional status and attitudes toward overweight and obesity among health-science students in Vietnam

OBJECTIVE: To assess nutritional status across different health-professional disciplines and to examine attitudes toward overweight and obesity and their associated factors among undergraduate health-science students in Vietnam. METHODS: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among 764 undergraduate students from medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and other health programs at two universities in Hanoi. Stratified random sampling ensured representation by major and academic year. Nutritional status was classified by BMI using WHO Asian cutoffs. Attitudes toward obesity were measured using the 20-item Attitudes Toward Obese Persons Scale and analyzed in three domains identified by factor analysis. Physical activity, emotional well-being, and resilience were assessed using validated scales. Ordered logistic regression identified predictors of higher BMI category, and Tobit regression examined factors associated with attitude domain scores. RESULTS: Most students had normal BMI, while overweight and obesity were more common in males, in certain living situations, and in general medicine students. Female gender and pharmacy major were associated with lower odds of higher BMI, whereas higher depression scores were associated with higher BMI category. Attitudes toward obesity showed moderate negative stereotypes and relatively positive beliefs. BMI category was associated only with the psychological inferiority domain, with higher scores among students with overweight. Female gender, lower depression, higher happiness and resilience, and moderate physical activity were associated with more favorable attitude profiles. CONCLUSION: Among Vietnamese health-science students, nutritional status and attitudes toward obesity varied across demographic and psychosocial characteristics. Excess weight and weight-related attitudes appear partly independent but influenced by mental well-being and training context. Integrated health promotion and stigma-reduction strategies in health-professional education may improve both student health and future obesity care.