ONGOING PROJECTS

Research unit for dietary studies

Mange børn i alderen 3-5 år er stillesiddende når de er hjemme, og hvis de også er meget indendørs og derved mindre fysisk aktive i børnehaven, hvor de tilbringer op mod 40 timer om ugen, kan det have sundhedsmæssige konsekvenser senere i livet. Fysisk aktivitet og ujævnt underlag stimulerer sanser, muskler, knogler og led. Det er derfor en almindelig overbevisning, at børn der går i udflytterbørnehaver er sundere og bedre motorisk udviklede, da de tilbringer størstedelen af deres børnehavetid udendørs, formodentligt i et højere tempo, end børn der går i konventionelle børnehaver.

Faktum er, at dette kun er blevet undersøgt i få og mindre studier af lavere kvalitet. Desuden formodes det, at børn af forældre med lavere indkomst i en mindre grad benytter tilbud såsom udflytterbørnehaver. På grund af social ulighed i sundhed har disse børn en højere risiko for overvægt og sygdom når de bliver ældre, og derfor vil de muligvis have ekstra fordele ved mere udendørs aktivitet.

Formålet med nærværende forskningsprojekt er at opnå evidensbaseret viden om forskelle mellem udflytterbørnehaver og konventionelle børnehaver i relation til pædagogisk og didaktisk praksis, samt sundhedsmæssige effekter på kort og længere sigt. Specifikt undersøges: i) Hvem vælger forskellige typer af børnehaver, og hvorfor? ii) I hvilken grad påvirker denne forventede alternative pædagogiske praksis og de øgede udendørsaktiviteter børnenes fysiske aktivitet, samt udviklingen af børnenes motorik, vægt samt risiko for infektionssygdomme der kræver antibiotika?

Et særligt fokus i nærværende forskningsprojekt er på, om børn af mindrebemidlede forældre, som ifølge forskningen er mindre i naturen og mindre fysisk aktive i deres fritid, kan drage yderligere sundhedsfremmende fordele af udflytterbørnehaver. Vi forventer, at resultaterne kan bidrage med vigtig viden om mulighederne for at anvende skovbørnehaver som strategi for sundhedsfremme og sygdomsforebyggelse, og for at mindske social ulighed i sundhed.

High trans-fat intake has in adults been associated with several cancer types. Whether exposure to trans-fat also is associated with childhood cancers are unknown. Our main goal for this study is to strengthen the scientific basis for understanding idiopathic haematopoietic neoplasms in children by investigating societal changes in trans-fat intake and incidences of haematopoietic neoplasms, and investigate neonatal blood levels of trans-fatty acids in children diagnosed with leukemia and matched controls. Our study is the first study to assess the association between trans-fat exposure during pregnancy and risk of haematopoietic neoplasms in children. EnTRANCE is coordinated at The Parker Institute by Principle Investigator professor Berit L Heitmann, PhD and Postdoc Ina Olmer Specht, PhD in collaboration with scientists at the International Agency of Research of Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France.
The Harvard Pooling Project of Diet and Coronary Disease is an international consortium of cohort studies with the goal of providing comprehensive evaluations of associations between dietary and anthropometric factors and risk of coronary disease. We currently investigate the association between sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake and the risk of coronary events and death, and examine if substitution of coffee, tea, milk, fruit juice and artificially-sweetened beverages for SSBs is associated with a reduced risk of coronary disease. The Danish part of the Pooling Project is coordinated by Professor Berit L Heitmann. The project is financed by the Danish Heart Foundation, Region Hovedstaden, Etly og Jørgen Stjerngrens Fond, the Swiss Foundation for Nutrition Research, Oticon fonden and Niehls Bohr fondet
The SundStart intervention aimed at preventing the development of overweight and obesity among 2-6 years old Danish children who were yet normal weight, but were considered predisposed to future overweight and obese. The intervention gave individual advice to families of the young children to reduce family sterss and improve diet habits, physical activity, and sleeping habits. The project aimed to answer the question whether targeting high risk groups and initiating prevention early in life would successfully prevent excessive weight gain, as well as improve diet habits, increase physical activity, reduce stress and improve sleeping habits. The project is coordinated by Professor Berit L Heitmann, PhD and Postdoc Nanna Julie Olsen. The project is financed by TrygFonden, Dansih medical research council and Helsefonden.

Vitamin D deficiency is common among otherwise healthy pregnant women and may have consequences for them as well as the early development and long-term health of their children. The importance of maternal and neonatal vitamin D status on later health has not been widely studied. The D-tect is a project financed by the Danish Council for Strategic research, comprising a battery of observational studies on associations between exposure to/status of vitamin D early in life and risk of various diseases later in life. All the studies use data from the Danish National registers. The fact that mandatory fortification of margarine with vitamin D in Denmark was cancelled in 1985, and thus, children born before and after 1985 differed by prenatal exposure to extra vitamin D, is utilized. Additionally, neonatal vitamin D status is measured using dried blood spots (PKU cards) kept in the The Danish Newborn Screening Biobank.

Homepage: www.d-tectingdisease.dk 

Diets have been proven effective in relation to short term weight loss. However, programmes that tries to help people maintain a weight loss in the longer-term show high relapse and attrition rates, rendering them overall ineffective. Thus, the NoHoW intervention will evaluate the effectiveness of evidence-based ICT behaviour change tools for weight loss maintenance after a clinically significant weight loss.

Homepage: nohow.eu