Office: 33.20 (together with Silja),

Ph.d.-project: Dietary n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in relation to changes in weight and development of obesity and cardiovascular disease.

Background: Intake of fish or n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) may decrease risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). However, it seems controversial if the intake of n-6 PUFAs may increase the risk of excessive adipose tissue development by altering the production of arachidonic acid and prostacyclin, which stimulates signalling pathways implicated in adiopogenesis. Furthermore, because n-3 PUFA and its metabolite eicosapentaenoic acid can decrease generation of thromboxane, it is expected that a high dietary n-6: n-3 ratio might increase the risk of CHD, through increasing thrombotic tendency. Therefore an optimal dietary balance between n-6 and n-3 PUFAs may be important to prevent thrombosis and atherosclerosis and thereby risk of CHD and furthermore to prevent enhanced fat mass development and thereby obesity that with time also may increase risk of CHD. International workshops on dietary intakes for PUFAs have already recommended a reduction in n-6 PUFAs and a increase of the dietary n-3 PUFAs – but there is no clear consensus about what the optimal n-6: n-3 ratio in the diet is.
Aim: The aims of the present study are therefore to evaluate the association between dietary intake of n-3 PUFAs and the n-6: n-3 PUFA ratio in relation to changes in body composition, body mass index (BMI) as well as risk of CHD among adult.
Materials: Data from “The Glostrup Population Studies” and “The Pooling Project of Cohort Studies on Diet and Coronary Disease” will be used.
Implications: By studying dietary intake of n-6 and n-3 PUFAs and the effects on obesity and development of CHD, we expect that this PhD thesis will contribute to clarify whether focus should be on the n-6: n-3 ratio, rather than absolute intakes of n-6 and n-3 PUFAs. There has been similar hypothesis, but no evidence, and further studies are warranted in this field.

Start: 01-04-08
Finish (expected): 31-03-11

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