Up to 16.8 percent of Vietnamese people in the age bracket of 25-64 are overweight or obese under the Asian standard, according to the Nutrition Institute under the country's Ministry of Health on Thursday.

Under a recent survey by the ministry, two-thirds of the obese people are over 45 years old. The number of obese people in Vietnam's urban areas is triple those in rural ones.

Obesity is attributed to the habit of eating much salt, rice and fat content, the institute said, noting that each Vietnamese person eats 18-22 grams of salt, 80 grams of meat and 350 grams of rice each day.

In a bid to reduce number of obese people, the ministry has offered local people advice on healthy diets, cooking skills and information about obesity-related illnesses.

The survey was conducted among 14,245 people from 7,600 households.

Source: Xinhua