About this course: The New Nordic Diet is a new food culture developed in 2009-13 with key emphasis on gastronomy, health, and environment. Major research in its effect on acceptability, behaviour and learning skills, and disease prevention have been conducted by the OPUS centre at the University of Copenhagen and the people behind the award-winning restaurant Noma in Copenhagen. This course will give the participants the opportunity to experience a healthy and palatable new food and eating concept diet “The New Nordic Diet” and an understanding of how food and diets can affect mental and physical health and ensure the foundation for a healthier life style for future generations with a regional based diet and food culture. In Denmark “the Nordic cuisine”, has expanded from food eaten at the award-winning Copenhagen restaurant Noma to home-made dishes of local ingredients of whole-grain rye bread, root vegetables, berries, fresh fish and seaweed. This course is also part of the EIT Health Programme
Created by: University of Copenhagen
Taught by: Dr Arne Astrup, MD, DMSc., Professor, Head of Department
Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports
| Commitment | 4-5 hours/week |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Developing a New Meal System
In this first module you will be introduced to The New Nordic Diet project. You will hear about the background for the project, the definition of the signatures and principles behind which are considered to be fundamental of this new meal system. The New Nordic Diet is based on Nordic ingredients but is adaptable all over the world. It incompases both the health and well-being of the individual and environmental sustainability as well as the pleasure of eating. The challenges for accepting new healthy components of a New Nordic Diet will be illustrated too. Based on these principles leading chefs working with the Nordic kitchen and academic staffs from our university will guide you through this module’s lectures.
4 videos
- Video: 1.1: Introduction to the course, by Arne Astrup
- Video: 1.2: The Nordic Movement, by Claus Meyer
- Video: Easy to Love, Easy to Get Hold of, Easy to Make, and Easy to Afford
- Video: 1.4: Communication in the Research Center OPUS, by Kristian Levring Madsen
Graded: Introduction to the New Nordic Diet
WEEK 2
Development of the New Nordic Diet
3 videos
- Video: 2.1: Sensory Evaluation of Food, by Wender Bredie
- Video: 2.2: Developing a New Nordic Diet, by Charlotte Mithril
- Video: 2.3: Sustainability of the New Nordic Diet, by Henrik Saxe
Graded: Development of the New Nordic Diet
WEEK 3
The OPUS School Meal Study
In this module we will investigate how the OPUS School Meal Study was designed and how the investigators examined the effect of the New Nordic Diet school meals on the well-being, development academic performance, body composition as well as their risk of developing lifestyle diseases such as type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and cardiovascular diseases. The study compared the New Nordic Diet with the current situation in schools (packed lunch from home and/or school canteens/small shops etc.).
7 videos
- Video: 3.1: The New Nordic Diet and Child Nutrition, by Arne Astrup
- Video: 3.2: The Opus School Meal Study, by Camilla Damsgaard
- Video: 3.3: Results of the School Meal Study, by Camilla Damsgaard
- Video: 4.1: The Importance of Children's Activity and Sleep, by Mads Fiil Hjorth
- Video: 4.2: Movement behaviors in children and indicators of adverse health, by Mads Fiil Hjorth
- Video: 4.3: Optimal Wellness, Development and Health, by Niels Egelund
- Video: 4.4: The influence on children's cognition and performance in school, by Kim Michaelsen
Graded: The OPUS School Meal Study
WEEK 4
The OPUS Supermarket Intervention
In this module, we'll be looking at the effect of New Nordic Diet on adults. We will study the effect of eating the New Nordic Diet (NND) and an Average Danish Diet (ADD), respectively, in terms of body weight, body composition (fat) and risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and type 2-diabetes. You will learn about problems, barriers and benefits associated with two types of diet, focusing in particular on shopping, cooking and eating, meal structure and diet composition. Moreover, drop-out rate and the subject’s compliance with the principles behind the diet are discussed.
6 videos
- Video: 5.1: Introduction, by Arne Astrup
- Video: 5.2: Social Aspects of Acceptance, by Aruun Michelsen
- Video: 6.1: The Adult Intervention, Part 1, the Studies, by Thomas Meinert Larsen
- Video: The Adult Intervention, Part 2, the Results
- Video: 6.3: Perspectives on Health and Consumer Acceptance, by Thomas Meinert Larsen
- Video: 6.4: The SHOP System, by Sanne Kjelleberg Poulsen
Graded: The OPUS Supermarket Intervention
WEEK 5
Investigate the New Nordic Diet – from Food to Health
In this last module's lectures we will concentrate on the health of the New Nordic Diet, focus on the effects published so far from four different studies and on the potential factors and foods affecting the outcomes.
4 videos
- Video: 7.1: Introduction, by Arne Astrup
- Video: 7.2: Nutrition and Diet, by Lars Ove Dragsted
- Video: 7.3: Industrially Produced Trans Fats and the New Nordic Diet, by Steen Stender
- Video: 7.4: Closing Remarks, by Arne Astrup
Graded: Investigate the New Nordic Diet – from Food to Health
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University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest University in Denmark - founded in 1479, and with over 38,000 students and more than 9,000 employees. The purpose of the University is to conduct research and provide education to the highest academic level. Based in Denmark's capital city it is one of the top research institutions in Europe.
Ratings and Reviews
Excellent course, thank you !
This was a wonderful introduction to the New Nordic Diet and I loved the well documented research studies.
Great, it is very useful to learn about different diet and studies. I really liked it.
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I enjoyed learning about dietary practices of another culture and its region :)