Adherence to the WCRF/AICR for Women in Breast Cancer Adjuvant Treatment submitted to Educational Nutritional Intervention

Abstract

Patients undergoing breast cancer treatment are susceptible to changes in eating behavior and nutrition status, thus making nutrition education relevant. Based on the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR) guide, with recommendations for cancer prevention released in 2007, the present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of educational nutritional intervention for women with breast cancer undergoing treatment while adhering to the 2007 WCRF/AICR guidelines. A nonrandomized clinical trial was conducted with a population composed of female patients, divided in intervention (IG, n = 18) and comparison (CG, n = 68) groups. Data were evaluated at baseline and after treatment/nutritional intervention. The IG participated in the intervention program for 12 mo by biweekly phone calls, personal meetings, and monthly handouts, while targeting the intake of at least 400 g/day of fruits and vegetables, and no more than 500 g/week of red or processed meats. The recommended adherence to physical activity and food intake was evaluated in compliance with the guidelines. The IG improved their adherence to the guidelines and there was a significant decrease in consumption of animal food (-43.9%) and alcoholic drinks (-0.2 g ethanol/d) and increase in plant food intake (+65.4%). Most women in both groups were sedentary and therefore violated the guidelines. The CG presented an increase in body mass index (+1.0 kg/m) and waist circumference (+1.9 cm), while no change was observed in the IG. These findings are promising as nutritional intervention for women undergoing breast cancer treatment contributed positively to improving their adherence to the WCRF/AICR guidelines.

Evidence-based tailored nutrition educational intervention improves adherence to dietary guidelines, anthropometric measures and serum metabolic biomarkers in early-stage breast cancer patients: A prospective interventional study

“…Although some women tend to opt for a healthier diet after diagnosis, there are reports that they find comfort in consuming less healthy foods, using them as a reward for the difficult period of therapy [ 34 ]. With regard to food consumption, we observed a low consumption of fruits, vegetables, and legumes and increased intake of high energy-dense and nutritionally poor foods, in line with previous findings [ 35 ].…”

Evidence-Based Tailored Nutrition Educational Intervention Improves Adherence to Dietary Guidelines, Anthropometric Measures and Serum Metabolic Biomarkers In Early-Stage Breast Cancer Patients: A Prospective Interventional Study.

“…Although some women tend to opt for a healthier diet after diagnosis, there are reports that they nd comfort in consuming less healthy foods, using them as a reward for the di cult period of therapy [30]. With regard to food consumption, we observed a low consumption of fruits, vegetables, and legumes and increased intake of high energy-dense and nutritionally poor foods, in line with previous ndings [31].…”

Identifying effective interventions to promote consumption of protein-rich foods from lower ecological footprint sources: A systematic literature review

“…The number of participants ranged from 7 to 48,835 and the participants' age ranged from 6 months (infants) to 75 and older. Nine studies had close to 100% female participants [24,25,38,42,43,[46][47][48]52], and three studies had 100% male participants [23,29,53]. In six studies, gender distribution was either even or the difference between them was less than 10% [26,28,34,36,44,49].…”

“…Of the 33 individual level studies, there were 24 Randomised Controlled Trials (RCT) , two Non-randomised Controlled Trials (CT) [47,48] and seven used a pre-post study design [49][50][51][52][53][54]. The number of participants ranged from 7 to 48,835 and the participants' age ranged from 6 months (infants) to 75 and older.…”