PhD defence: The health effects of the New Nordic Diet
Sanne Kellebjerg Poulsen
PhD thesis
The health effects of the New Nordic Diet (NND) are investigated in a six month randomized controlled intervention, in which the NND was compared to the average Danish diet (ADD) among 181 adult participants. Foods were handed out free of charge from a study shop according to the ad libitum principle. After 26 weeks, the NND group lost 4.7 kg which was 3.2 kg more compared to the ADD group. Furthermore, the NND group experienced a larger decrease in blood pressure compared to the ADD group, and the decrease was partly independent of the weight loss.
Following the intervention, all participants were encouraged to follow the NND for further 52 weeks. Compared to pre-intervention the total body weight loss was 1.7 kg for the NND group and 1.8 kg for the ADD group. Blood pressure remained lower compared to pre-intervention levels in the NND group, however this was only partly true for the ADD group.
Self-evaluated dietary compliance and satisfaction with NND was high in the NND group during the intervention and remained relatively high during the follow up period. The ADD groups’ satisfaction with NND during the follow up period was higher compared to the satisfaction with ADD in the same period.
Based on this study, the health effects of the NND are considerable as shown by the lower body weight and lower blood pressure. The follow up period clearly illustrated the challenges related to the voluntary and self-administered adherence to new dietary guidelines but also supports thatthe NND has a potential as a healthy and highly satisfying diet for the general population.
2014, 197 pages,
ISBN 978 87 7611 727 6
Time
30 April 2014 at 13:00
Venue
Festauditoriet, 1-01, Bülowsvej 17, 1870 Frederiksberg C.
Opponents
Associate Professor Thomas Thymann (Chair), Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Ulf Risérus, Senior Researcher, Department of Public Health and Caring Scienses, Sweden.
Kim Overvad, Professor, MD, Section for Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Denmark.
Supervisors
Associate Professor, Thomas Meinert Larsen, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Professor, Head of Department Arne Astrup, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Professor, MD, Kjeld Hermansen, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark.