Nutrition The Nordic Way Inge Tetens Professor in Nutrition National Food Institute DTU intet@food.dtu.dk
The Nordic Co-operation in Nutrition Denmark Finland Iceland Norway Sweden 2
Why Nordic nutrition co-operation? Similarities across the Nordic countries Dietary habits Prevalence of diet-related non communicable diseases (NCD) Challenges in the food-nutrition-health area Building up new knowledge Sharing common practices Developing common action plans Collaborating on common research challenges 3
Prevalence of adult (25-64 yr) obesity (>30) in the Nordic countries (self-reported data) NNR2004 and NNR2012
Collecting and building up new knowledge The Nordic countries have collaborated since the 1980 es in setting recommendations for nutrient intake by publishing the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations (NNR)
NNR2012 at a glance Evidence based set of reference values Based on current nutritional patterns in the Nordic countries Used as a basis for planningand assessmentof nutrient and dietary intakes Primary valid for the general population Focus on the whole diet and foods associated with reduced risk of major non-communicable diseases (NCDs) Recommendations on adequate physical activity
Evidence based dietary changes to promote energy balance and health in Nordic populations Increase Exchange Limit Vegetables Pulses Fruits and berries Refined cereals Butter Butter-based spreads Wholegrain cereals Vegetable oils Veg. oil-based fat spreads Processed meat Red meat Beverages and foods with added sugar Fish and seafood High-fat dairy Low-fat dairy Salt Nuts and seeds Alcohol NNR2012 Integrating nutrition and physical activity (2014)
NNR as a frame for common Nordic Food Based Dietary Guidelines More emphasis on quality of the diet o Increasing fruit and vegetables consumption to 500-600 g/day o Increasing consumption of whole grain o Increasing fish consumption to 2-3 fish meals per week o Limiting processedand red meat consumption (< 500g per week) o Sensible use of milk products (2 portions per day/cheese) o Good sources of fat(fatty fish, rapeseed oil, olive, avocado, nuts) o Lowering consumption of sweet beverages o Reduction of salt intake o Increasing physical activity
Major issues in connection with food consumption and its environmental impact: i. Eat a varied diet! ii. Greenhouse emissions (CO2, CH4) iii. Food waste
International Symposium on Northern Development, 25th February 2015, Québec I.Tetens
Nordic Plan of Action for Better Health and Quality of Life through Diet and Physical Activity Launched in 2006 Addresses the issues of an unbalanced diet, physical inactivity and overweight International Symposium on Northern Development, 25th February 2015, Québec I.Tetens
Nordic Plan of Action on Better Health and Quality of Life through Diet and Physical Activity Common Nordic ambitions formulated by the Nordic Council of Ministers into: short term goals (2011) and longer term visions(2021) Goals regarding diet, physical activity, overweight and obesity, social inequality in health, National actions take place in each of the Nordic countries Common monitoring system to assess the development and the effects of different actions
Common nutrition-enhancing actions and programs in the Nordic Countries Labeling Policy framework to increase F&V intake Whole grain campaigns Legislation on trans fatty acids Nordic salt project The Nordic welfare state
Labeling to make the healthy choices the easy choises Nutritional labels on food packages Labels based on scientific evidence Aim to help consumers to choose healthier food items in certain product groups Encourage the industry to produce nutritionally improved products 14
The Keyhole/Heart symbol The Keyhole symbol Joint Nordic nutritional label Based on criteria on the content of whole grain, dietary fibre, salt, sugar, fat and saturated fats Has existed in Sweden for more than 25 years, published with common conditions in Sweden, Norway and Denmark in 2009. Introduced in Iceland in 2013 The Heart symbol Label used in Finland Based on criteria for the content of salt and total and type of fat and for some food groups also on criteria for fibre, sugar and cholesterol Has been in use since 2000
Nordic salt project A common Nordic project Aims at increasing knowledge about the potential adverse health effects of high intakes of salt and that the majority of the salt intake is derived from processed foods May increase the demand for foods with lower salt content Increased dialog between industry and retailers on salt issues Several communication activities are planned
Overall principles of the Nordic Diets!
The nutrition experiences the Nordic way
Visions for the Nordic co-operation in the area of nutrition Continue the fruitful co-operation on the NNR/nutrient reference values and dietary guidelines Reach the goals and long term visions in the Plan of Action with respect to NCDs, diets and physical activity including the monitoring activities Further collaboration on dietary assessment methods and food composition databases Further development of evidence-based common best practices in relation to dietary patterns of concern Development of joint research infrastructures in relation to food, nutrition and health Further considerations given to sustainability, including biodiversity, in the development of Nordic dietary guidelines.
Thanks to Inga Thorsdottir, professor Bryndis Eva Birgisdóttir, senior researcher Olöf Helga Jónsdóttir, PhD Lone Banke Rasmussen, senior researcher Nina Nørgaard Sørensen, PhD Lene Breum Larsen, senior advisor
More information www.nordicnutrition.org