The Fin-HIT study celebrates its ten-year anniversary this spring as the study's first invitation letter was sent out exactly ten years ago. Since then, the study has progressed by leaps and bounds: the first phase of data collection lasted until 2014 and the first follow-up was carried out in 2015 and 2016. During this time, Fin-HIT has published 24 peer-reviewed scientific articles and the data material has resulted in two doctoral dissertations.
The purpose of Fin-HIT is to investigate which factors in children and adolescents promote health, both short and long term. Primarily, the group investigates how genes, environment and lifestyle are linked to weight development. The research material also makes it possible to study long-term diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Last autumn, Fin-HIT conducted a pilot study ahead of the second follow-up. A group of participants were invited and asked to fill out a web questionnaire. The results of the pilot study and the participants' feedback have been used to refine the questionnaire and the recruitment strategy. Now the research group is ready to start the second follow-up in earnest.
More than 10,000 families around Finland participate in the Fin-HIT survey. When the survey began, the children were about 9-12 years old. An invitation to the second follow-up is sent when they turn 18 years. The participants have thus become young adults and their parents have participated in the survey over the years as well.
The survey is unique in Finland and may provide answers to many hitherto unanswered questions about how different health factors are related to each other.
Fin-HIT celebrates its 10 years of research by starting the second follow-up phase of the study and arranging a free seminar on 15.4.
Please see Fin-HIT's own website here for more information.
The program for the seminar is found here and you are welcome to sign up through this link.
