2008/797 Visit by Professor Clemens Schacky, University of Ludwig-Maximilians Universistat, Munich, Germany

By Roy Palmer

Professor Schacky is a specialist relating to the issues of heart disease who has been working on a blood test called the Omega-3 Index, with Professor Bill Harris, an American specialist.

Whilst visiting Australia, Professor Shacky gave talks in Perth (in conjunction with CRC participant Curtin University) and in Adelaide and Sydney. In Sydney, Professor Schacky was involved in a workshop run by The Omega-3 Centre where he combined his presentations with that of Dr Phil Calder from the United Kingdom. Professor Schacky presented evidence that the typical western population is far more susceptible to coronary heart diseases than populations with higher Omega-3 intake such as, the Japanese population, simply because of traditional diets. 

The presentation highlighted that the average western population has an Omega-3 Index of slightly above 4 whereas the average in Japanese people is just over 10. Essentially this transfers to a tripling of sudden cardiac deaths in western populations over Japanese populations. Furthermore, Japanese people had been tested in many countries of the world to confirm whether the issue was to do with genes or diet and the results clearly highlighted the latter to be the reason.

The trip by Profsessor Schacky helped to promote the health benefits of seafood consumption and allowed the development of relationships to support international engagement and collaboration.

Please contact the seafood CRC for more information on this visiting expert.