Interview with Erika Roman

Would you like to describe the project in short?

"The project aims to identify new sustainable ways to increase physical activity and reduce a sedentary lifestyle in dog owners, using the dog as a motivator. The project is based on unique preliminary results from a pilot study on healthy dog owners and dogs. The overall question is how a tailored exercise program for dog owners and dogs affects quality of life, body composition and risk factors for type 2 diabetes and other cardiometabolic disorders in both owners and dogs, and how it stimulates motivation for behaviour change towards increased physical activity."

What are the cross-disciplinary aspects of this project?

"The project is a collaboration between the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala University, the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, the architectural firm FOJAB, and the non-profit organization Swedish Working Dog Association. Several scientific disciplines participate in the project; veterinary medicine, animal care, endocrinology, physiotherapy, neuroscience, nutrition, economics, and landscape architecture."

How was the project and collaboration born?

"Through the shared lifestyle that characterizes dog owners and their dogs and where lifestyle factors are common to both owner and dog. Through contact with the Swedish Working Dog Association, the idea was born to evaluate their exercise program ‘Upp och hoppa – Sund med hund’ for both owner and dog. A further part of the project also includes the environment where the dog owners exercise and are physically active with their dogs."

How can UDC be of help in your research?

"Create contact surfaces between both senior researchers and doctoral students through joint seminar series, writing camps, research boarding schools etc. Help with disseminating results."

What can UDC do to make the PhD students feel like they belong to the centre?

"In addition to what has been mentioned before – being inclusive for all doctoral students around the graduate school and joint courses and seminars."

Which UDC activities will be meaningful for this project?

"See my two previous answers."

Doctoral Candidate

Klara Smedberg

Would you like to describe the project in short?

My project focuses on the effects of a joint exercise program for dog owners and dogs on risk factors for type 2 diabetes and other cardiometabolic disorders in owners, and corresponding metabolic disturbances in dogs. We are also planning a survey to study lifestyle habits, health and wellbeing in up to 2000 Swedish dog owners, where we also will look into the effect of the outdoor environment on habits of physical activity. Overall, the aim of the project is to identify success factors that increase physical activity and thereby health and wellbeing in both dog owners and dogs. Hopefully, the results can also be of use for other groups in society.

Why did you apply to work with this project

I was really appealed by the One Health approach in this project – that it encompasses both humans, animals and the environment. I also find the overall purpose of the project very important. High levels of insufficient physical activity is a major global challenge, even though the benefits of being physically active have been well-known for decades. Of course, this project will not result in a solution to this huge problem, but perhaps it can constitute one tiny part of the greater puzzle.

How can the UDC be of help in your research?

To start with, financial funding from the UDC made my PhD project possible in the first place. Moreover, the activities that UDC arranges constitute excellent opportunities to learn more about diabetes from different angles, which is very valuable to me since I have my background in veterinary and not human medicine. I also really appreciate the network of other UDC doctoral students and senior researchers linked to UDC.

What UDC activities have you participated in?

I took the course Introduction to Diabetes Research at the very beginning of my first semester of my PhD studies, which was a very good start. After that, I have participated in several social gatherings for UDC doctoral students and also some of the Diabetes+ and EXODIAB seminars. I also attended the interdisciplinary symposium on dogs, humans and diabetes last autumn.