Effects of an integrated lifestyle intervention for overweight and obese breast cancer survivors: A quasi-experimental study

Purpose

This study aimed to identify the effects of an integrated lifestyle intervention on health-promoting behavior, depression, body composition, and quality of life for overweight and obese breast cancer survivors.

Methods

This study used a quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest. The participants were 42 overweight and obese breast cancer survivors. An integrated lifestyle intervention was implemented for eight weeks and comprised eight sessions on diet education, physical activity, stress management, and spousal participation. Outcomes for health-promoting behavior, depression, marital intimacy, body composition, natural killer cell activity, and quality of life were measured.

Results

The experimental group scored significantly higher than the control group for health-promoting behavior (t = 2.912, p = .007), marital intimacy (t = 2.306, p = .021), and quality of life (t = 2.559, p = .014). Moreover, depression was significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group (t = −2.723, p = .013).

Conclusion

This study demonstrated that the integrated lifestyle intervention increased health-promoting behavior, marital intimacy, and quality of life and reduced depression among overweight and obese breast cancer survivors. Integrated lifestyle interventions can have a positive effect in communities and in clinical environment to improve health and quality of life among overweight and obese breast cancer survivors.