A representative from FV Hospital recently delivered a presentation at the 14th Expanded Central Highlands Cardiology Conference, held in Da Lat on 9 and 10 August 2025. The event brought together more than 500 delegates, including scientists, doctors, and cardiology specialists from across the country. It served as a key scientific forum for sharing the latest advances in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases and related disorders.

Advancing Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Through Nutritional Therapy

This year’s conference, themed “Updates in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cardiovascular, Renal, and Metabolic Diseases”, focused on major medical challenges with significant implications for public health. A key highlight was the recognition of overweight and obesity as leading risk factors driving the rising burden of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

In a topical session, Specialist Level II, Nguyen Viet Quynh Thu, MD, MSc, Head of Dietetics & Nutrition at FV Hospital, delivered a presentation during the “Cardio–Renal–Metabolic Syndrome: Challenges in Clinical Practice” section under the title “A New Horizon in Managing Obesity and Its Complications through Medication, Scientific Nutrition, and a Healthy Lifestyle,” Dr Thu offered a fresh perspective on obesity management. She emphasised that  obesity is not merely a cosmetic issue, but a significant risk factor for dangerous chronic diseases, impacting cardiovascular health, disrupting the endocrine system, and reducing patients’ overall quality of life.

Multidisciplinary Strategy for Obesity Management

As obesity goes beyond just weight control, effective prevention and treatment require multidisciplinary collaboration. Dr Quynh Thu presented an obesity treatment strategy currently implemented at FV, highlighting a multidimensional approach that moves past diet-based weight loss alone.

Effective obesity management requires a strategy that combines multiple methods, in which scientific nutrition plays a key role. Nutritional control prescribed by doctors not only helps reduce energy intake but also ensures balance among food groups by selecting low glycaemic index carbohydrates and fruits, increasing vegetables, prioritising fish and lean white meat, limiting saturated fats, and eliminating trans fats. At the same time, maintaining an active lifestyle with regular physical activity and endurance exercises.

When these measures do not achieve the desired effect, drug treatment and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy will be considered, especially for patients with high BMI accompanied by complications such as type 2 diabetes or metabolic disorders. “Weight loss is only part of the journey. The true goal is to improve cardiovascular health, control complications, and enhance the patient’s quality of life,” Dr Thu emphasised.

Through the clinical cases presented, Dr Quynh Thu illustrated the multidisciplinary approach used at FV Hospital to treat and manage overweight and obese patients. This model has supported many individuals, from mild to severe obesity, in successfully regaining a healthy weight. Treatment methods such as weight-loss nutrition combined with exercise, medication, and bariatric surgery have resulted in significant and lasting improvements. This integrated approach not only promotes effective weight loss but also helps restore overall health and well-being.