Height of children has long been considered as a significant index of nutrition and health of a population
still, there is little information regarding the trends of height in Vietnam in the nationwide. The authors assessed the secular trends in height in children through all data sets from the General Nutrition surveys 1985-2010. The results showed that: At age 2 years, boys/girls were on average 2.48 cm taller per decade from 1985 to 2010. At age 3 years, boys/girls were on average 2.1 cm and 2.48 taller per decade, respectively from 1985 to 2010. At age 5 years, height increased in boys/girls by 2.4 cm and 2.24 cm/decade between 1985-2010. Overall, the relative increase in height between 1985-2010 were observed at all age groups from 1 to 5 years old. In conclusion, height increased markedly over time in children aged 5 years in the nation wide, consistent with large changes in socio-economic and health and nutritional indicators in the considered 25 - year interval.