Changes in diet, physical activity, and supplement use among adults diagnosed with cancer☆
Section snippets
Overview and study participants
Participants were identified from the population-based Cancer Surveillance System, which is part of the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results program ((9)). The registry catchment area includes 13 counties in western Washington state. We obtained permission from each patient's physician before sending a letter of invitation to participate in the survey, which was followed up by a telephone call approximately one week later. We made at least 15 attempts to contact
Results
The final sample was composed of 356 adult cancer patients, of whom 126 had breast cancer, 114 had prostate cancer, and 116 had colorectal cancer. Half of the patients were female, 91.3% were white, the mean age was 62.5 years (SD = 10.7), and 37.1% had a college education. Fifty-one percent of patients had been diagnosed within the past 12 months, and the remainder were diagnosed 12 to 24 months in the past.
Table 1 gives the most common changes in lifestyle, defined as changes that at least
Discussion
This article indicates that about two thirds of cancer patients reported making changes in diet, physical activity, and/or supplement use in the past 12 months. Most of these changes were healthful (ie, eating more fruits and vegetables and less fat, adding new aerobic activity) and are consistent with recommendations made by the American Cancer Society for cancer prevention ((15)). Other changes were more controversial (taking dietary supplements such as vitamin C, garlic, or echinacea),
Applications
■The results of these analyses indicate that cancer patients often make lifestyle changes months to years after diagnosis and represent a group of adults that could benefit from counseling on diet and physical activity. We suggest that dietetics professionals who interact with these patients provide them counseling and/or resources to make these lifestyle changes. Finally, dietetics professionals working with cancer survivors need to be wary of dismissing or discounting dietary supplements or
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2024, American Journal of Clinical NutritionDrivers of Dietary Choice After a Diagnosis of Colorectal Cancer: A Qualitative Study
2023, Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and DieteticsDietary choices after a cancer diagnosis: A narrative review
2022, NutritionCitation Excerpt :Specifically, survivors decreased their intake of sugary drinks (–45 g/d) and red and processed meat (–62 g/wk), but made no changes to their fruits and vegetables, alcohol, or ultraprocessed food intake compared with the time of diagnosis, suggesting that nutrition-focused support tools for patients were warranted [67]. An American study of mixed cancer types used telephone interviews to assess dietary changes in patients (n = 356) diagnosed with breast, prostate, or colorectal cancer within 2 y before being surveyed, and found that 40% of patients reported at least one dietary change within the prior year [56]. Patient characteristics, such as younger age, >13 y of education, and a diagnosis >1 y prior to the interview all independently increased the likelihood of reported dietary changes [56].
Differences in Dietary Patterns Identified by the Gaussian Graphical Model in Korean Adults With and Without a Self-Reported Cancer Diagnosis
2021, Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
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This study was supported by contracts N01-PC-67009 and N01-CN-05230, both from the National Cancer Institute, as well as funds from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.