DEAR COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS

 

The International Puijo Symposium in 2009 will be the twentieth in its order. Following the impressive list of names such as Martti J. Karvonen, Osmo Hänninen, Matti Uusitupa, Markku Laakso, Claude Bouchard, Steven Blair, William Haskell, Antero Kesäniemi, and Bente Klarlund Pedersen, to name a few, who have served as the president of the previous Puijo Symposia, it is my turn to take the responsibilities as The President of the International 20th Puijo Symposium.

The topic of this 20th Symposium is “Physical Exercise in Health Promotion and Medical Care: Current evidence for Metabolic Syndrome”. The importance of physical activity has been globally recognized. The public health recommendations regarding regular physical activity, the latest released by U.S. Depatment of Health & Human Services in October 2008, have been of utmost value.

In clinical medicine we need to consider the level of evidence of any therapy. It is not enough that we strongly believe, but we need to know what is the scientific evidence of any therapy. Physical exercise does not make any difference. While observational studies may give impressive associations between physical activity and various health outcomes, it is only adequately powered randomized controlled trials that can show causal relations between physical exercise and health. Moreover, exercise prescription by specialists in health care and in physical exercise will be more successful when based on clear understanding of the mediating physiological pathways and mechanisms through which exercise works. The 20th Puijo Symposium will concentrate much on these questions.

All submitted abstracts are eligible for Ralph S. Paffenbarger Jr Poster Award. An international jury will select three finalists, who will present their works on Thursday, June 25th, 2009. The awarding ceremonies will be on the final day of the Symposium. In addition, young investigators, 35 years of age or less, are invited to compete for another prestigious award, The Martti J. Karvonen Young Investigator Award. Again, an international independent jury will be in charge to make the nominations. The presentation of the acknowledged studies constitutes one highlight of the Puijo Symposium. Two previous winners of the Martti J. Karvonen Young Investigator Award, Dr Martin Halle (1996) from Germany and Dr Per-Magnus Haram (2005) from Norway, both established investigators today, are among the invited speakers in The 20th Puijo Symposium.

As previously, again this time the common nominator of the invited speakers is their very high international reputation. The four days of the Puijo Symposium will mean very intensive and stimulating discussions on scientific topics. In addition, the organizers are proud to offer two unique OFF-TOPIC lectures given by Mrs JoAnn Paffenbarger and professor Kari Enqvist. There will also be an enjoyable social program. During midsummer the nights are bright which is another good reason to experience something unusual by the lake.

Let me invite you to submit your best research to be presented at the June 2009 Symposium and to make plans to attend in the company of colleagues and friends.
Welcome to Kuopio!

Sincerely,

Rainer Rauramaa, President
Foundation for Research in Health Exercise and Nutrition
Kuopio Research Institute of Exercise Medicine
Kuopio, Finland

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