How the COVID-19 pandemic has affected eating habits and physical activity in breast cancer survivors: the DianaWeb study

Abstract

Purpose Breast cancer (BC) survivors are increasingly interested in learning about healthy lifestyles to reduce the risk of BC recurrence and mortality. The DianaWeb study, a community-based participatory research, offers BC patients a specific interactive website to help them in adopting and maintain correct lifestyles, in line with World Cancer Research Fund recommendations. However, to limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, most countries introduced restrictions which, inevitably, caused sudden lifestyle changes. The current study aimed at evaluating changes in lifestyle in BC survivors before, during, and after the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We used data of 224 BC cancer survivors enrolled in the DianaWeb study. We evaluated the adherence to physical activity (PA) guidelines, to Mediterranean diet (MD), and WCRF recommendations, at baseline, during and after the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. We estimated the association between PA, MD, and WCRF adherence with sociodemographic characteristics, years from enrolment in the DianaWeb study, and type of breast cancer. Results As expected, during confinement periods, we observed a significant decrease in walking activity and in the percentage of patients performing vigorous PA. In post-quarantine, total weekly energy expenditure increased significantly. BC patients participating in the DianaWeb study for more than 3 years were more likely to be more active. There were no changes in MD and WCRF adherence. Conclusions Our results show that the proposed interactive website was useful in achieving durable lifestyle changes, that have not been undermined either during the COVID-19 pandemic. Implications for Cancer Survivors Patient education is essential for guiding BC survivors toward improving their health outcomes; therefore, an interactive website like the one proposed by the DianaWeb study may be useful to improve healthy lifestyles.

Global trends and future prospects of COVID-19 and physical activity: Bibliometric analysis

“…[ 68 ] For instance, studies examining children [ 69 ] and adults [ 70 ] reported that there was a recovery in PA levels of children and adults after the lockdown was released; however, this level could not reach the same level before the pandemic. Other topics that attracted the interest of researchers were the way COVID-19 affected PA habits [ 71 , 72 ] and the relationship between COVID-19 based anxiety and sleeping pattern [ 73 , 74 ] and the sample consisted of individuals in childhood period. These studies inquired about how COVID-19 affected PA levels of children, if the PA level of children changed due to the release of lockdown and PA habits and needs of children.…”