Abstract
This study aimed to assess body features, and alimentary and lifestyle behavior related to cancer prevention among Romanian adults having relatives with cancer. The study was performed in 2010/2011 in an oncological hospital in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. It involved 320 adults who had relatives with cancer. An anonymous questionnaire was filled in by each participants; their weights and heights were measured and body mass index (BMI) was calculated, 56.6% of the participants having a value higher than 24.9. Almost all subjects ate less than 400 g of fruits and vegetables daily and 56% of the participants consumed more than 500 g of red meat weekly. One quarter of the study sample was performing less than 30 minutes of moderate physical activity daily. Some 28.1% of the subjects were smokers. These data call for comprehensive actions to help Romanian cancer patient relatives to respect the recommendations regarding healthy lifestyle promotion and cancer prevention. Health professionals should periodically assess body composition and lifestyle components of adults who have relatives with cancer in order to identify unhealthy behavior and offer them personalized education and counseling.
Highlights
IntroductionThe international report Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective underlines the correlation between body composition, alimentary and lifestyle behaviors and various types of cancers (American Institute for Cancer Research, 2009)
Cancer represents an important public health problem in Romania, where the cancer specific mortality is close to the average of the European Union (EU) (179.7 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants/year in Romania compared to 173 in the EU), but has an increasing trend, in contrast to the EU, where a reverse tendency is observed (National Institute of Public Health, 2011).The international report Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective underlines the correlation between body composition, alimentary and lifestyle behaviors and various types of cancers (American Institute for Cancer Research, 2009)
The results show that around 56% of the participants had higher than normal body mass index (BMI) and this situation was statistically significant more frequently among men than among women
Summary
The international report Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective underlines the correlation between body composition, alimentary and lifestyle behaviors and various types of cancers (American Institute for Cancer Research, 2009). The World Health Organization underlined the importance of smoking prevention for non-smokers and smoking cessation for smokers, in order to prevent several types of cancer (National Institute of Public Health, 2011). The aim of this study is to assess body composition, several alimentary and lifestyle behaviors related to cancer prevention among Romanian adults, who have cancer patients in their family. This represents a first step in order to develop appropriate cancer prevention activities among this population group
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