20 March 2026 | Oslo, Norway [May Anette Tallini with tedNEWS]
More than 170 participants gathered for the Norwegian Seventh-day Adventist Health Professionals’ Association’s, SAHA, health congress in Oslo, Norway, from 13 to 15 March 2026. Held under the theme “Health for Our Time”, the event brought together attendees from across Norway and beyond for a weekend of teaching, discussion, and practical learning centred on lifestyle, prevention, and whole-person health.
The congress featured contributions from nationally recognised figures across sport, media, and research, including sprinter Øyvind Kjerpeseth, gardening podcaster Gerd Ellen Ottersen, university lecturer in mental health Frode Thuen, and Dr Michael Orlich, a physician and epidemiologist at Loma Linda University, USA. Their participation reflected a broad, interdisciplinary approach to health, spanning physical performance, everyday lifestyle, mental well-being, and long-term research.
Plenary sessions and workshops addressed a wide range of topics, including physical activity, mental health, social relationships, and sustainable lifestyle change. Additional sessions explored the gut microbiome, gardening, fasting-mimicking diets, trauma, dementia-friendly churches, and strategies for reducing screen use.
According to the original report by May Anette Tallini, the programme combined new insights with established knowledge and presented it in a way that was accessible not only to healthcare professionals but also to a wider audience.
Organisers emphasised that the congress is open to anyone with an interest in health and wellbeing, not only those working in healthcare. Membership in the association, SAHA, is currently free and available to all.
Participants were served plant-based meals throughout the event, providing a practical expression of the principles presented and reflecting the Adventist Church’s long-standing commitment to healthy living.
The congress forms part of SAHA’s ongoing efforts to promote a broader understanding of health by integrating the physical, mental, social, and spiritual dimensions. It also highlights the role of local initiatives in supporting the wider mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to serve communities through health, education, and compassionate outreach.
[Photo: Atle Haugen / Adventist Media Exchange (CC BY 4.0)]
The original version of this article was published in Norwegian on the Norwegian Union Conference website.
