Due to copyright issues, an electronic copy of the thesis must be ordered from the faculty. For the faculty to have time to process the order, the order must be received by the faculty at the latest 2 days before the public defence. Orders received later than 2 days before the defence will not be processed. After the public defence, please address any inquiries regarding the thesis to the candidate.
Trial Lecture – time and place
See Trial Lecture.
Adjudication committee
- First opponent: Professor Oddrun Gudbrandsen, University of Bergen
- Second opponent: Professor Baukje de Roos, University of Aberdeen, Scotland
- Third member and chair of the evaluation committee: Associate Professor Jan Magnus Aronsen, University of Oslo
Chair of the Defence
Associate Professor Anne-Marie Aas, University of Oslo
Principal Supervisor
Professor Kirsten Bjørklund Holven, University of Oslo
Summary
To reach international sustainability commitments we need healthy food from sustainable food systems. Internationally, the aquaculture sector is pointed out to be expanded to make food production more sustainable, and better utilization of by-products is suggested to reduce food losses and waste. Most dietary guidelines recommend fish as part of a healthy diet. The beneficial effect of fish intake has largely been attributed to n-3 PUFAs in fatty fish. However, intake of lean fish is also associated with improved health, suggesting other health promoting substances in fish.
The aims of the thesis were to investigate health effects of fatty fish consumption, and evaluate whether more of the fish could be used for human consumption by exploring health effects of salmon fishmeal made from by-products from salmon production.
First, they performed a cross-sectional study to investigate associations between fatty fish consumption and lipoprotein subclass particle concentrations and composition, and certain plasma metabolites. They found that high-consumers of fatty fish (>223 g/week) had a more favourable anti-inflammatory and HDL-C-related lipoprotein profile than low-consumers of fatty fish (<107 g/week).
Further, they performed a randomised controlled trial in adults with increased risk of type 2 diabetes. In total 88 participants were randomised to receive capsules with either salmon fishmeal or placebo. They found no effect on cardiometabolic risk markers, but increased serum concentrations of vitamin B12 and selenium in the salmon fishmeal group. The salmon fishmeal was a good source of micronutrients and had a low content of contaminants.
Overall, the findings support the current Norwegian dietary guidelines for fatty fish consumption regarding cardiovascular disease risk. Further, they suggest that salmon fishmeal made from by-products from salmon production could be a valuable food ingredient in populations with suboptimal nutrient intakes.
Additional information
Contact the research support staff.