[Reading level: B2 – Upper Intermediate]
Linh, a 20-year-old first-year university student, has a catchphrase that all her friends know by heart: “I’m getting old. Everything feels exhausting.”
A typical day for the young woman begins with turning off her alarm five or six times, then lying in bed scrolling through TikTok until noon. Even sitting up to grab a bottle of water two steps away from her bed becomes a test of willpower.
“My body feels like a block of lead,” Linh describes. “It feels as if any sudden movement will make my joints crack and fall apart.”
On one rare occasion when she agreed to go mountain climbing with her classmates, while her friends briskly made their way to the finish, Linh had to give up at the very first steep section. She collapsed by the roadside, her chest tightening, gasping for breath, silently telling herself that she would “never again join outdoor trips that require physical activity.”
Hoang Hai, a 24-year-old graphic designer in Hanoi, starts his day differently. He wakes up just before work and then remains glued to his office chair for 8–10 hours. Hai says he lives by one principle: “Everything must be within arm’s reach.”
If a packet of instant noodles is 200 meters from his house, he will take his motorbike instead of walking. If the fan remote falls to the floor, he uses his foot to drag it closer rather than bending down, all to “save energy.”
“There are afternoons when I stand up after work and my vision goes dark, my ears start ringing, and I have to hold onto the edge of my desk to avoid falling,” Hai says. During a recent health check-up, he was diagnosed with grade-1 fatty liver disease and prediabetes. His doctor advised him to establish a healthy diet and exercise routine; otherwise, his conditions could worsen and require lifelong medication.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reports that Vietnam is among the ten countries with the most physically inactive populations in the world, with even a “physical inactivity crisis” among young people. More than 90% of girls and over 80% of boys fail to meet the minimum daily physical activity recommendations, indicating that a sedentary lifestyle is becoming increasingly common among Vietnamese youth.
Research conducted by the Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health found that 30% of Vietnamese adults do not engage in sufficient physical activity. Vietnamese young people’s physical fitness, endurance, and strength rank poorly compared with international standards.
A recent study conducted by Novo Nordisk in collaboration with Decision Lab surveyed 1,000 adults in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hai Phong, and Can Tho in 2025. The study found that nearly two-thirds of respondents spend more than six hours a day sitting. More than one-third regularly consume processed foods, which are often high in sugar, salt, saturated fat, and “empty” calories.
One consequence of physical inactivity is overweight and obesity. The rate of overweight and obesity among Vietnamese students has doubled over the past decade, rising from 8.5% to 19%, while the figure in major urban areas has reached 26%.
According to Associate Professor Dr. Tran Thanh Duong, Director of the National Institute of Nutrition, this rate of increase is even faster than that of Thailand and is approaching levels seen in developed countries. Overweight and obesity are a ticking time bomb that will increase the burden of non-communicable diseases in the future, eroding both public health and national labor productivity.
The World Health Organization (WHO) regards obesity as a complex chronic disease that progresses silently but leaves far-reaching consequences, ranging from individual health problems to national economic burdens.
Associate Professor Dr. Do Van Dung, former Head of the Faculty of Public Health at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, believes that the lifestyle of young Vietnamese people is changing in a direction opposite to good health.
“In the past, people walked or cycled; now they mainly rely on cars and motorbikes. Household chores have been replaced by washing machines, vacuum cleaners, and dishwashers. Students exercise less, then get caught up in work, spending their days sitting in one place with phones, televisions, and computers. Together, these factors create a passive lifestyle,” he says.
Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan also notes that modern life has led Vietnamese people to eat faster, sleep later, experience more stress, and exercise less. Non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and stroke do not appear overnight; they develop from small habits accumulated over many years.
Beyond individual factors, Dr. Cao Tran Thanh Trung, Executive Director of the Lumos Psychological Counseling Center, points to another hidden dimension: the urban environment itself is creating barriers. Green spaces, parks, and playgrounds are gradually shrinking. Air pollution and complicated traffic conditions discourage young people from going outdoors. Combined with the pressure to succeed early and the endless cycle of comparison on social media, many retreat to their beds as a natural response.
“This is physical inactivity caused by lifestyle choices, which is different from exhaustion resulting from illness or excessive work pressure. These individuals still work and remain productive, but they ignore all the warning signs their bodies are sending them,” Dr. Trung explains.
To escape this cycle of “slowly wasting away,” experts believe the solution does not lie in setting overly ambitious goals overnight. Dr. Trung emphasizes that change cannot begin with blame or additional pressure. Instead, young people should be encouraged to rebuild basic habits such as walking, taking the stairs, and exercising for 10–15 minutes a day, rather than aiming for major transformations from the outset.
At the same time, they should re-establish healthy daily routines by getting enough sleep, eating regular meals, limiting phone use after 10 p.m., and setting aside time away from social media. Regular health check-ups are also something young people need to learn to view as a habit rather than something they do only when obvious symptoms appear.
Source: https://vnexpress.net/tuoi-20-trong-than-xac-60-5084754.html
WORD BANK:
catchphrase /ˈkætʃ.freɪz/ [C1] (n): câu cửa miệng
know/learn by heart /noʊ; lɝːn baɪ hɑːrt/ [B1] (v): học thuộc lòng
exhausting /ɪɡˈzɔː.stɪŋ/ [B2] (adj): khiến kiệt sức
scroll through sth /skroʊl θruː/ [B1] (v): lướt (điện thoại)
grab sth /ɡræb/ [B1] (v): lấy, chộp lấy
willpower /ˈwɪl.paʊ.ɚ/ [C1] (n): ý chí
lead /led/ (n): chì
joint /dʒɔɪnt/ [B2] (n): khớp xương
crack /kræk/ [B2] (v): phát ra tiếng rắc, nứt
fall apart /fɔːl əˈpɑːrt/ [B2] (v): rời ra, vỡ vụn
briskly /ˈbrɪsk.li/ [C1] (adv): nhanh nhẹn, hối hả
steep /stiːp/ [B2] (adj): dốc đứng
collapse /kəˈlæps/ [B2] (v): ngã quỵ, ngồi bệt xuống
gasp for breath /ɡæsp fɔːr breθ/ [C1] (v): thở hổn hển, ngáp lấy hơi
graphic designer /ˈɡræf.ɪk dɪˈzaɪ.nɚ/ (n): nhà thiết kế đồ họa
be glued to sth /bi ɡluːd tuː/ [B2] (adj): dán mắt vào, không rời khỏi
principle /ˈprɪn.sə.pəl/ [B2] (n): nguyên tắc
remote /rɪˈmoʊt/ (n): điều khiển từ xa
drag sth /dræɡ/ [B2] (v): kéo lê
bend down /bend daʊn/ [B1] (v): cúi xuống
edge /edʒ/ [B2] (n): mép, cạnh
be diagnosed with sth /ˌdaɪ.əɡˈnoʊst wɪð/ [B2] (v): được chẩn đoán mắc bệnh gì
grade-1 /ɡreɪd wʌn/ (adj): độ 1
fatty liver /ˌfæt.i ˈlɪv.ɚ/ (n): gan nhiễm mỡ
prediabetes /ˌpriː.daɪ.əˈbiː.tiːz/ (n): tiền tiểu đường
physically inactive /ˌfɪz.ɪ.kəl.i ɪnˈæk.tɪv/ (adj): ít vận động
crisis /ˈkraɪ.sɪs/ [B2] (n): khủng hoảng
sedentary lifestyle /ˈsed.ən.ter.i ˈlaɪf.staɪl/ [C1] (n): lối sống ít vận động
sufficient /səˈfɪʃ.ənt/ [B2] (adj): đủ
endurance /ɪnˈdʊr.əns/ [C1] (n): sức bền
in collaboration with sb/sth /ɪn kəˌlæb.əˈreɪ.ʃən wɪð/ [B2] (phr): hợp tác với ai/cái gì
respondent /rɪˈspɑːn.dənt/ [C1] (n): người trả lời khảo sát
saturated fat /ˈsætʃ.ə.reɪ.t̬ɪd fæt/ (n): chất béo bão hòa
empty calories /ˈemp.ti ˈkæl.ə.riz/ (n): calo rỗng
a ticking time bomb /ə ˌtɪk.ɪŋ taɪm bɑːm/ [C1] (n): quả bom nổ chậm
burden /ˈbɝː.dən/ [B2] (n): gánh nặng
non-communicable disease /ˌnɑːn kəˌmjuː.nɪ.kə.bəl dɪˈziːz/ (n): bệnh không lây nhiễm
erode sth /ɪˈroʊd/ [C1] (v): bào mòn, làm suy giảm
chronic disease /ˌkrɑː.nɪk dɪˈziːz/ (n): bệnh mãn tính
far-reaching /ˌfɑːr ˈriː.tʃɪŋ/ [C1] (adj): sâu rộng, lâu dài
former /ˈfɔːr.mɚ/ [B2] (adj): trước đây, nguyên
vacuum cleaner /ˈvæk.juːm ˌkliː.nɚ/ (n): máy hút bụi
get caught up in sth /ɡet kɔːt ʌp ɪn/ [C1] (v): bị cuốn vào
hypertension /ˌhaɪ.pɚˈten.ʃən/ (n): cao huyết áp
stroke /stroʊk/ [B2] (n): đột quỵ
overnight /ˌoʊ.vɚˈnaɪt/ [B2] (adv): chỉ sau một đêm, rất nhanh
accumulate /əˈkjuː.mjə.leɪt/ [C1] (v): tích lũy
hidden /ˈhɪd.ən/ [B1] (adj): tiềm ẩn, ẩn giấu
dimension /daɪˈmen.ʃən/ [B2] (n): khía cạnh
barrier /ˈber.i.ɚ/ [B2] (n): rào cản
shrink /ʃrɪŋk/ [B2] (v): co lại, thu hẹp
the/an endless cycle of sth /ði ˈend.ləs ˈsaɪ.kəl əv/ [C1] (n): vòng luẩn quẩn bất tận của cái gì
retreat to somewhere /rɪˈtriːt tuː/ [C1] (v): lui về, tìm đến nơi nào đó
exhaustion /ɪɡˈzɔːs.tʃən/ [C1] (n): sự kiệt sức
ambitious /æmˈbɪʃ.əs/ [B2] (adj): tham vọng
take the stairs /teɪk ðə sterz/ [B1] (v): đi cầu thang bộ
from the outset /frəm ði ˈaʊt.set/ [C1] (adv): ngay từ đầu
set aside sth /set əˈsaɪd/ [B2] (v): dành ra, để riêng
health check-up /helθ tʃek ʌp/ (n): kiểm tra sức khỏe
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