Sustained effects of theory-based physical activity intervention for socioeconomically diverse obese endometrial cancer survivors: A Longitudinal analysis

Purpose of Investigation: Assess the sustained effects of a 12-week physical activity intervention on physical activity, physical function, waist circumference, and quality of life among urban, socioculturally diverse endometrial cancer survivors. Materials and Methods: Twenty-three obese women with a history of endometrial cancer within the previous five years with no evidence of cancer recurrence volunteered for a 12-week physical activity intervention based on social cognitive theory. Classes were offered 2x/week and included 30 minutes of behavioral counseling and 60 minutes of exercise. Pedometers were distributed, and participants were instructed to walk ≥ 90 min/week at home. A longitudinal analysis of baseline, post-intervention and 12-week follow-up response profile model was fitted using restricted maximum likelihood estimation approach. Results: Mean participant age was 64 ± 8 years, and BMI was 37 ± 6 kg·m-2. Seventy-eight percent of participants were non-white. Improvements in waist circumference (-4.8 cm, p = 0.009), and the six-minute walk test (13 m, p = 0.042) persisted 12 weeks after the completion of the intervention. Among the psychosocial variables, walking self-efficacy (p = 0.022), and outcome expectations (p = 0.040) also retained improvements at follow-up. Quality of life, assessed using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy, improved post-intervention (p < 0.001), but this improvement was not sustained at follow-up (p = 0.14). Conclusion: This physical activity intervention led to meaningful sustained improvements in physical function, waist circumference and physical activity-related psychosocial variables. Replication of these results using controlled design with larger samples sizes should be conducted to confirm these findings and determine the long-term effectiveness of physical activity interventions.