Assessment of diet quality and lifestyle behaviors among cancer survivors at a cancer-related meeting place

Background. Diet, weight and physical activity are regarded as major modifiable risk factors in cancer development. Efforts in preventing cancer are made globally by developing and continually updating guidelines. Cancer survivors are vulnerable to secondary cancers and other diseases and benefit from lifestyle changes post-diagnosis, but compliance to the health Objectives. To examine the proportion of cancer survivors meeting cancer-associated dietary and lifestyle recommendations at Vardesenteret, a cancer-related meeting place, to identify dietary challenges among men and women, and further compare findings of diet quality and lifestyle with a validated method. Method. A short diet questionnaire (DQ) was distributed to 257 cancer survivors visiting the Vardesenters in Oslo. Eighty-two percent (n=211) returned the questionnaire. Diet quality was assessed by evaluating reported intake against the Norwegian Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (NFBDG) of vegetables, fruit and berries (“5-a-day”), wholegrain and red and processed meat. Lifestyle factors evaluated included body mass index (BMI), smoking, alcohol use and physical activity (PA). Diet quality, in addition to alcohol intake and PA, was compared to the validated NORDIET food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) in a sub-group of the study population. Results. A total of 193 cancer survivors were included in the study. Mean age of the population was 60 years (SD 12), 64% were women and 73% had university background. Five-a-day, wholegrain, red meat and processed meat recommendations were reported met by 16%, 43%, 98% and 58%, respectively. Fewer men reported meeting the 5-a-day and limited processed meat recommendation compared to women. Forty-six percent were overweight or obese, 6% were current smokers and 8% had higher alcohol intake than recommended. One third met the PA recommendation. Seventy-one of the cancer survivors also completed the NORDIET-FFQ, reporting similar dietary challenges. Conclusion. Well-educated cancer survivors have dietary challenges requiring further effort and advocacy at Vardesenteret. A red meat intake within recommendation is reported by most survivors, but adherence to the 5-a-day recommendation, especially in men, and the wholegrain recommendation can be improved.