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Breast cancer survivors’ exercise preferences change during an exercise intervention are associated with post-intervention physical activity

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Abstract

Purpose

Exercise program preferences are important for designing physical activity (PA) interventions; yet may change following an intervention. Further, the relationship between preferences and PA behavior change is unclear. This study evaluated exercise program preferences among breast cancer survivors (BCS) before and after a behavioral intervention and associations between program preferences and PA change.

Methods

BCS were randomized to the BEAT Cancer intervention (n = 110) or written materials (n = 112). Questionnaires assessed exercise program preferences. Minutes per week of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) were accelerometer-measured and self-reported at baseline (M0), post-intervention (M3), and 3-month follow-up (M6).

Results

At M0, the majority of intervention group participants preferred exercising with others (62%) yet shifted to preferring exercising alone (59%) at M3 (p < 0.001). Furthermore, preferring exercising with others at M0 was associated with greater increases in self-reported MVPA between M0 and M6 (124.2 ± 152 vs. 53.1 ± 113.8, p = 0.014). BCS preferring facility-based exercise decreased after the BEAT Cancer intervention (14% vs. 7%, p = 0.039) and preferring exercising at home/had no preference at M0 had greater improvements in accelerometer-measured MVPA from M0 to M3 (74.3 ± 118.8 vs. -2.3 ± 78.4, p = 0.033) and M0 to M6 (44.9 ± 112.8 vs. 9.3 ± 30.4, p = 0.021). Exercise program preferences regarding mode of counseling, training supervision, and type of exercise changed from M0 to M3 but were not associated with changes in MVPA.

Conclusion

Findings suggest BCS exercise program preferences may change after an intervention and be associated with changes in MVPA. Understanding the role of PA preferences will better inform the design and success of PA behavior change interventions.

ClinicTrials.gov, ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT00929617.

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Data availability

The datasets used for the analyses of the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

BCS :

Breast Cancer Survivor

BEAT Cancer :

Better Exercise Adherence after Treatment for Cancer

BMI :

Body Mass Index

DCIS :

Ductal Carcinoma in Situ

FITT :

Frequency, Intensity, Time, Type

IRB :

Institutional Review Board

MVPA :

Moderate-to-vigorous Physical Activity

PA :

Physical Activity

UC :

Usual Care

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by National Institutes of Health grants (grant numbers [R01CA136859], [P30DK056336], and [CA047888]). The authors are exceptionally grateful for the efforts of the 222 survivors of breast cancer who participated in this study.

Funding

This research was supported by National Institutes of Health grants (grant numbers [R01CA136859], [P30DK056336], [R25CA47888] and [CA047888]).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Behavior, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Erica Schleicher, Nashira I. Brown & Dorothy Pekmezi

  2. O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Erica Schleicher, Robert A. Oster, Dorothy Pekmezi & Laura Q. Rogers

  3. Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA

    Edward McAuley

  4. The Cancer Center at Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA

    Edward McAuley

  5. Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    Kerry S. Courneya

  6. School of Human Sciences, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, IL, USA

    Philip Anton

  7. Division of Epidemiology, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ, USA

    Diane K. Ehlers

  8. Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

    Siobhan M. Phillips

  9. Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Robert A. Oster & Laura Q. Rogers

Authors
  1. Erica Schleicher
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  2. Edward McAuley
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  3. Kerry S. Courneya
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  4. Philip Anton
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Contributions

Edward McAuley, Kerry S. Courneya, Philip Anton, Diane K. Ehlers, Siobhan M. Phillips, and Laura Q. Rogers contributed to the study conception, design, material preparation, and data collection. Statistical Analyses were conducted by Robert A. Oster, Laura Q. Rogers, and Erica Schleicher. Erica Schleicher wrote the manuscript and all co-authors reviewed and revised. Final approval was given by all authors before submitting for publication.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Erica Schleicher.

Ethics declarations

Ethical approval

This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. The Ethics Committee of the University of Alabama at Birmingham granted approval (June 2009). Institutional review board (IRB) approval was obtained, and all participants provided written informed consent to participant and regarding publishing their data. This trial was registered on ClinicTrials.gov, ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT00929617. Registered June 29, 2009, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00929617?term=NCT00929617&draw=2&rank=1.

Consent to participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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The authors affirm that human research participants provided informed consent for publication of their data.

Competing interests

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

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Schleicher, E., McAuley, E., Courneya, K.S. et al. Breast cancer survivors’ exercise preferences change during an exercise intervention are associated with post-intervention physical activity. J Cancer Surviv (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-023-01389-y

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