Effect of exercise on the caloric intake of breast cancer patients undergoing treatment

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an exercise intervention on the total caloric intake (TCI) of breast cancer patients undergoing treatment. A secondary purpose was to determine whether or not a relationship existed between changes in TCI, body fat composition (%BF), and fatigue during the study, which lasted 6 months. Twenty females recently diagnosed with breast cancer, scheduled to undergo chemotherapy or radiation, were assigned randomly to an experimental (N = 10) or control group (N = 10). Outcome measures included TCI (3-day food diary), %BF (skinfolds), and fatigue (revised Piper Fatigue Scale). Each exercise session was conducted as follows: initial cardiovascular activity (6-12 min), followed by stretching (5-10 min), resistance training (15-30 min), and a cool-down (approximately 8 min). Significant changes in TCI were observed among groups (F 1,18 = 8.582; P = 0.009), at treatments 2 and 3, and at the end of the study [experimental (1973 ± 419), control (1488 ± 418); experimental (1946 ± 437), control (1436 ± 429); experimental (2315 ± 455), control (1474 ± 294), respectively]. A significant negative correlation was found (Spearman rho (18) = -0.759; P < 0.001) between TCI and %BF and between TCI and fatigue levels (Spearman rho (18) = -0.541; P = 0.014) at the end of the study. In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that an exercise intervention administered to breast cancer patients undergoing medical treatment may assist in the mitigation of some treatment side effects, including decreased TCI, increased fatigue, and negative changes in body composition.

Effects of a self-managed home-based walking intervention on psychosocial health outcomes for breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: a randomised controlled trial

“…The self-managed intervention had a positive effect on fatigue and contributes to the evidence from 286 previous physical activity interventions with breast cancer patients [7,16,23,26]. The intervention 287 also provides further support for the benefits of physical activity for self-esteem in breast cancer 288 patients [18].…”

Exercise in Patients With Breast Cancer and Healthy Controls: Energy Substrate Oxidation and Blood Lactate Responses

“…19 The YMCA protocol was chosen as a means to predict Vo 2max based on recommendations in the literature and to ensure subject safety. 2,15,19 All subjects began the first 3 minute stage at 25 W. HR was recorded during the last 15 seconds of the second and third minute of each stage whereas the rate of perceived exertion (RPE) was recorded during the last 30 seconds of each stage using Borg's (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20) scale. The workload of the second stage was determined by the steady-state HR attained in the first stage as reported in the literature.…”

“…Exercise sessions were based on recommendations in the literature and consisted of 9 minutes of steady-state exercise at the randomly chosen prescribed workload for the day and started immediately after the warmup. 2,15 All subjects were blinded to the specific exercise workload for each session. Respiratory gases were collected continuously throughout the exercise sessions.…”

“…1 The decreased mortality rate can be attributed to earlier detection and more aggressive treatments. [2][3][4][5] These efforts have resulted in there being more than 2.4 million breast cancer survivors in the United States in 2009. 6 Treatment of breast cancer is multifaceted and varies individually based on the type of tumor and individual risk factors.…”

Physical Activity and Cancer

“…However, there is some evidence from on-treatment studies that physical activity during treatment can help to manage side effects of treatment, decrease hospitalisation times, and may therefore facilitate treatment completion (Battaglini et al, 2008;Campbell et al, 2004;Dimeo et al, 1997). There is a lack of sufficient evidence for physical activity during treatment for other types of cancer, and also a lack of evidence for the efficacy of physical activity during the pre-treatment and resumption stages for all cancers.…”