TY - JOUR
T1 - Exploring changes in dietary intake, physical activity and body weight during chemotherapy in women with breast cancer
T2 - A Mixed-Methods Study
AU - de Kruif, Anja JThCM
AU - Westerman, Marjan J.
AU - Winkels, Renate M.
AU - Koster, Marije S.
AU - van der Staaij, Irene M.
AU - van den Berg, Maaike M.G.A.
AU - de Vries, Jeanne H.M.
AU - de Boer, Michiel R.
AU - Kampman, Ellen
AU - Visser, Marjolein
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was funded by the Dutch Cancer Society, www.KWF.nl (grant numbers UW2011 – 4987 EK and UW2011 − 5268 EK). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Dietetic Association
PY - 2021/6
Y1 - 2021/6
N2 - Background: The present study aimed (i) to assess changes in dietary intake (DI), physical activity (PA) and body weight (BW) in breast cancer patients during chemotherapy; (ii) to describe how women explained, experienced and dealt with these potential changes; and (iii) to eventually develop lifestyle intervention strategies tailored to the women's personal needs during chemotherapy.Methods: A longitudinal parallel mixed-method design was used with quantitative assessment of changes in dietary intake (24-h recall, Appetite, Hunger, Sensory Perception questionnaire), physical activity (Short Questionnaire to Assess Health-enhancing physical activity, Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory) and BW (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), in addition to qualitative interviews with 25 women about these potential changes during chemotherapy.Results: Most women who perceived eating less healthily with low energy intake (EI) and being less active before diagnosis continued to do so during chemotherapy, according to quantitative measurements. They struggled to maintain sufficient energy intake. Despite a lower than average reported EI, they unexpectedly gained weight and explained that fatigue made them even more inactive during chemotherapy. Active women usually managed to stay active because exercise was very important to them and made them feel good, although they also suffered from the side-effects of chemotherapy. They found more ways to deal with taste, smell and appetite problems than women with a lower energy intake.Conclusions: The combination of the quantitative and qualitative data provided more insight into the changes in dietary intake, physical activity and BW during chemotherapy. The women's explanations showed why some women remain active and others need support to deal with changes in lifestyle factors such as healthy nutrition and fatigue.
AB - Background: The present study aimed (i) to assess changes in dietary intake (DI), physical activity (PA) and body weight (BW) in breast cancer patients during chemotherapy; (ii) to describe how women explained, experienced and dealt with these potential changes; and (iii) to eventually develop lifestyle intervention strategies tailored to the women's personal needs during chemotherapy.Methods: A longitudinal parallel mixed-method design was used with quantitative assessment of changes in dietary intake (24-h recall, Appetite, Hunger, Sensory Perception questionnaire), physical activity (Short Questionnaire to Assess Health-enhancing physical activity, Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory) and BW (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), in addition to qualitative interviews with 25 women about these potential changes during chemotherapy.Results: Most women who perceived eating less healthily with low energy intake (EI) and being less active before diagnosis continued to do so during chemotherapy, according to quantitative measurements. They struggled to maintain sufficient energy intake. Despite a lower than average reported EI, they unexpectedly gained weight and explained that fatigue made them even more inactive during chemotherapy. Active women usually managed to stay active because exercise was very important to them and made them feel good, although they also suffered from the side-effects of chemotherapy. They found more ways to deal with taste, smell and appetite problems than women with a lower energy intake.Conclusions: The combination of the quantitative and qualitative data provided more insight into the changes in dietary intake, physical activity and BW during chemotherapy. The women's explanations showed why some women remain active and others need support to deal with changes in lifestyle factors such as healthy nutrition and fatigue.
KW - body weight
KW - breast cancer
KW - dietary intake
KW - mixed methods
KW - perceptions
KW - physical activity
U2 - 10.1111/jhn.12843
DO - 10.1111/jhn.12843
M3 - Article
C2 - 33411940
AN - SCOPUS:85099037039
SN - 0952-3871
VL - 34
SP - 550
EP - 561
JO - Journal of human nutrition and dietetics
JF - Journal of human nutrition and dietetics
IS - 3
ER -