Adherence to a Diet, Physical Activity and Body Weight Program Using Motivational Interviewing Among Breast Cancer Survivors (P05-025-19)

This study aims to evaluate the adherence to a dietary, physical activity, and body weight intervention using the principles of Motivational Interviewing (MI) in female breast cancer survivors who participated in a trial for 4 months. Premenopausal and postmenopausal female cancer survivors (n = 47) were randomized to the intervention group (IG, n = 22) that received the MI strategy, or the comparison group (CG, n = 25) that received nutritional counseling. Adherence to the program was evaluated based on compliance with dietary and physical activity goals, changes in body weight and changes in serum levels of α-carotene and β-carotene. We applied two non-consecutive 24-hour recalls to estimate dietary intake, and used a pedometer to measure number of steps. Blood samples were taken at time 0 (basal) and at 4 months of the study, and the serum concentrations of α-carotene and β-carotene were evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatography. Among participants in the IG, percentages of compliance with goals for fruit and vegetable intakes were 93% and 90% respectively. The consumption of red, green and yellow vegetables increased (135.3 to 148.6 g/day, 192.1 to 227.7 g/day and 49.1 to 58.9 g/day, respectively) in the IG. There were no differences in fiber or total sugar intakes between groups. Women in the IG significantly increased their serum β-carotene levels (median 10.7 to 21.2 μg/dL) compared to the CG (median 13.1 to 19.9 μg/dL) (P < 0.05). The number of steps increased in the IG compared to the CG (1865 vs. 189, P < 0.05), although participants in the two groups continued to be classified as sedentary (physical activity level