The Follo Study
How does Follo eat – and why? The Follo Study follows food habits in the region over time, providing new insights that can benefit residents, businesses, and local communities.
Start
01. Sep 2025
Funded by
FFL - The research funding for agriculture and food industry
Cooperation
The Follo region and Enebakk, Nesodden, Frogn, Nordre Follo, Vestby, Ås municipalities
Project Manager(s):
The Follo Study is a research project with a strong focus on food. Nofima launched the study in 2026 and will, over several years, follow how residents in the Follo region relate to food. Participants are recruited through a random selection of residents from Enebakk, Nesodden, Frogn, Nordre Follo, Vestby, and Ås. The study is carried out in close collaboration with the municipalities and the Follo Region to ensure local relevance and useful insights for the area.
The food we eat influences our health, wellbeing, and quality of life. At the same time, our food choices affect local communities, national food security, and the transition to more sustainable food systems. Previous population studies have provided valuable knowledge about the relationship between diet and health, but we still lack long-term insight into what actually drives the everyday food choices we make.
In Follo, as in the rest of Norway, food habits are shaped by a wide range of factors – as well as the interactions between them: the news landscape, local events, national guidelines, food environments, marketing, and not least the availability of goods. All of these influence our actions and shape the boundaries of the choices we can make, whether it concerns everyday shopping, emergency preparedness, or the opportunity to choose local specialties.
With the support of residents in Follo, the Follo Study will build a new knowledge base on what drives preferences, routines, and food choices over time. The insights will contribute to better decision-making for residents, businesses, and local communities.
Information to participants in The Follo Study
What is the study about?
The Follo Study examines residents’ relations and behaviors in the food domain, including food choices and preferences, links to individual characteristics, and related topics such as preparedness, local food, sustainability, food waste, and food disposal. For instance, some questions will ask about meals you recently ate, to map typical eating patterns in Follo. Similarly, other questions about food waste seek to map out which types of food that are most frequently discarded.
What will I do in the study?
As a panelist, you will receive a link to a survey a few times per year, with questions addressing different aspects relating to your food choices and preferences. Each survey takes about 15 minutes to complete, though this may vary. The Follo study launches in 2026 and will follow residents over an extended period, for this reason there is no established final year.
Who is responsible for the study?
The Follo Study is managed by Ragnhild Eg, while the overarching research project InnoSense is led by Valérie Lengard Almli. Both are senior scientists in the Department of Innovation, Consumer and Sensory Sciences at Nofima.
How are my personal data handled?
We comply with all applicable laws and regulations in Norway and the EU, including GDPR and guidelines from the National Committee for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences and the Humanities (NESH). Data will be securely stored on encrypted platforms from providers with data processing agreements with Nofima (EyeQuestion and Microsoft Office). You will be asked to consent to the processing of your data, which is necessary requirement for participating as a panelist in the study. Your personal data will not be stored together with your responses; we use a link key to follow the development in responses over time. However, we will use your personal data when we send out surveys and invitations, and when performing the prize draws.
What does consent mean?
You consent to us processing and storing your responses. Your responses will be processed without linked personal information, meaning that data analyses will not reveal who the respondent is. The anonymous responses from all panelists will be combined into larger datasets, which may be shared with other researchers. You also consent to us storing your contact details so we can reach you.
Participation is voluntary, and you may withdraw from the study at any time without consequences. If you wish to withdraw from the study and ensure your personal information is deleted, you should reach out to the person responsible for the Follo Study. When the Follo Study is concluded, all personal information and link keys will be deleted.
You have the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict, and transfer any stored data linked to you, prior to anonymization. Following anonymization, all personal information will be deleted, making it impossible to trace data back to you. You also have the right to file a complaint regarding the data management to the Data Protection Authority.
- For access or deletion requests, contact: follostudien@nofima.no
- Nofima’s Data Protection Officer is Anna Maria Bencze Rørå, email: mia.rora@nofima.no, phone: +47 414 43 014
- For questions regarding Sikt’s data protection assessment, use email: personverntjenester@sikt.no, or phone: +47 739 84 040
- Any complaints to the Data Protection Authority can be submitted online: https://www.datatilsynet.no/klageskjema_direkte/
