The Conference Health Story of North Karelia and Finland – Implications for Global Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Policy was delivered by Professor Pekka Puska at the Faculty of Medicine on March 25th. A Finnish physician, lecturer and politician, he held the position of Director General of the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) in Finland between 2009 and 2013.
He was the Director and lead researcher of the North Karelia Project, launched in 1972, in Finland. This project aimed at implementing a series of measures to reduce the high mortality rate resulting from cardiovascular diseases in the active population. During Professor Pekka Puska's 25-year term, premature mortality due to heart disease in the working-age population in Finland decreased by 80% .
In this Conference, he explained how the project was designed, supported and its results.
Foods like butter, milk, sausages and salt formed the basis of Finland's preferences in the 1970s. Smoking prevalence was high, leading the country to have one of the highest rates of death due to heart disease in the world. The index in North Karelia was 40% higher than in the rest of the country. Professor Pekka Puska started working in this project as lead researcher and continued to develop it when, later on, he became Director General of the Finnish National Public Health Institute.
North Karelia, home to less than 200,000 people, had a high annual rate of cardiovascular disease; half of the victims were men under 65 years of age, and nearly 40% of the cases were fatal. At the time, it was a relatively poor region, where the population lived on agriculture and livestock, with a diet based on milk and dairy products. Vegetables and legumes were not part of the dietary habits of this population.
The implementation of the project involved raising awareness to the need to change dietary habits among politicians, teachers, health professionals, community groups, businessmen and the media, by means of firm actions. To this end, a series of coordinated actions were implemented that led to the promotion of health, income and to the creation of social policies, promoting greater equity. Community, industry and health professionals all contributed to the Project.
However, the adoption of new health promotion measures required, not only the identification of obstacles in various sectors but also, consequently, a number of proposals to overcome them. The main objective of the strategy was to convince the population that they should consume fewer dairy products and fats, and more vegetables and fruits. Positive messages were passed on, calling for food replacement and salt reduction. The use of vegetable margarine instead of butter and skimmed milk instead of whole milk was encouraged.
In 1977, the North Karelia pilot project was extended to the entire country. On a larger scale and with the support of the government - Ministry of Agriculture and Trade - the working group promoted significant changes in agricultural practices, focusing on the production of wild fruits (one of the possible resources, taking into account the fauna and flora of the Finnish forests).
However, as he acknowledged at the conference, there were some difficulties in this implementation, namely involving the dairy industry, which vehemently resisted it as it considered these initiatives to be contrary to its interests.
According to the WHO (World Health Organization), the death rate attributable to heart disease in the male population aged 30-64 fell 73% in North Karelia and 65% in Finland between 1970 and 1995. The Finnish lifestyle became a world reference. The first collaborations with Portugal under the aegis of the World Health Organization were established in this context and continued, later on, with the CINDI program, the network of National Public Health Institutes and other initiatives.
On the 26th, Professor Pekka Puska was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Rector of the University of Lisbon, António Cruz Serra. The Ceremony took place in the Aula Magna and began with the usual Academic Parade. Then there was a speech by the Sponsor, Professor José Pereira Miguel, who introduced the Laureate. He highlighted his simplicity, humour and perseverance and the key role he played in the area of preventive medicine and public health, becoming an international reference in health promotion, not only in Finland but across Europe. And he could not fail to mention the North Karelia Programme, which revolutionised the Finnish panorama and became a European milestone.
He also emphasised the success of his work and his collaboration with Portuguese physicians such as Professor Fernando de Pádua, also a renowned physician in the area of Cardiology.
In his speech, Professor Pekka Puska talked about the work he has developed over the last several decades and the positions he has taken in the area of health in Europe. He mentioned, once again, the difficulties in implementing high-impact measures, but said that the strategy is based on community collaboration and integration, which is the only way to achieve results.
We congratulate Professor Pekka Puska on his work to promote public health.
size="40"
Ana Raquel Moreira
Editorial Team
He was the Director and lead researcher of the North Karelia Project, launched in 1972, in Finland. This project aimed at implementing a series of measures to reduce the high mortality rate resulting from cardiovascular diseases in the active population. During Professor Pekka Puska's 25-year term, premature mortality due to heart disease in the working-age population in Finland decreased by 80% .
In this Conference, he explained how the project was designed, supported and its results.
Foods like butter, milk, sausages and salt formed the basis of Finland's preferences in the 1970s. Smoking prevalence was high, leading the country to have one of the highest rates of death due to heart disease in the world. The index in North Karelia was 40% higher than in the rest of the country. Professor Pekka Puska started working in this project as lead researcher and continued to develop it when, later on, he became Director General of the Finnish National Public Health Institute.
North Karelia, home to less than 200,000 people, had a high annual rate of cardiovascular disease; half of the victims were men under 65 years of age, and nearly 40% of the cases were fatal. At the time, it was a relatively poor region, where the population lived on agriculture and livestock, with a diet based on milk and dairy products. Vegetables and legumes were not part of the dietary habits of this population.
The implementation of the project involved raising awareness to the need to change dietary habits among politicians, teachers, health professionals, community groups, businessmen and the media, by means of firm actions. To this end, a series of coordinated actions were implemented that led to the promotion of health, income and to the creation of social policies, promoting greater equity. Community, industry and health professionals all contributed to the Project.
However, the adoption of new health promotion measures required, not only the identification of obstacles in various sectors but also, consequently, a number of proposals to overcome them. The main objective of the strategy was to convince the population that they should consume fewer dairy products and fats, and more vegetables and fruits. Positive messages were passed on, calling for food replacement and salt reduction. The use of vegetable margarine instead of butter and skimmed milk instead of whole milk was encouraged.
In 1977, the North Karelia pilot project was extended to the entire country. On a larger scale and with the support of the government - Ministry of Agriculture and Trade - the working group promoted significant changes in agricultural practices, focusing on the production of wild fruits (one of the possible resources, taking into account the fauna and flora of the Finnish forests).
However, as he acknowledged at the conference, there were some difficulties in this implementation, namely involving the dairy industry, which vehemently resisted it as it considered these initiatives to be contrary to its interests.
According to the WHO (World Health Organization), the death rate attributable to heart disease in the male population aged 30-64 fell 73% in North Karelia and 65% in Finland between 1970 and 1995. The Finnish lifestyle became a world reference. The first collaborations with Portugal under the aegis of the World Health Organization were established in this context and continued, later on, with the CINDI program, the network of National Public Health Institutes and other initiatives.
On the 26th, Professor Pekka Puska was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Rector of the University of Lisbon, António Cruz Serra. The Ceremony took place in the Aula Magna and began with the usual Academic Parade. Then there was a speech by the Sponsor, Professor José Pereira Miguel, who introduced the Laureate. He highlighted his simplicity, humour and perseverance and the key role he played in the area of preventive medicine and public health, becoming an international reference in health promotion, not only in Finland but across Europe. And he could not fail to mention the North Karelia Programme, which revolutionised the Finnish panorama and became a European milestone.
He also emphasised the success of his work and his collaboration with Portuguese physicians such as Professor Fernando de Pádua, also a renowned physician in the area of Cardiology.
In his speech, Professor Pekka Puska talked about the work he has developed over the last several decades and the positions he has taken in the area of health in Europe. He mentioned, once again, the difficulties in implementing high-impact measures, but said that the strategy is based on community collaboration and integration, which is the only way to achieve results.
We congratulate Professor Pekka Puska on his work to promote public health.
size="40"
Ana Raquel Moreira
Editorial Team
