Television viewing time and weight gain in colorectal cancer survivors: a prospective population-based study.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the prospective relationships between television viewing time and weight gain in the 3 years following colorectal cancer diagnosis for 1,867 colorectal cancer survivors (body mass index (BMI) > or = 18.5 kg/m(2)).


METHODS
BMI, television viewing time, physical activity, and socio-demographic and clinical covariates were assessed at baseline (5 months), 24 months and 36 months post-diagnosis. Multiple linear regression was used to study independent associations between baseline television viewing time and BMI at 24 and 36 months post-diagnosis.


RESULTS
At both follow-up time points, there was a significant increase in mean BMI for participants reporting > or =5 h/day of television viewing compared to those watching <3 h/day at baseline (24 months: 0.72 kg/m(2) (0.31, 1.12), p < 0.001; 36 months: 0.61 kg/m(2) (0.14, 1.07), p = 0.01), independent of baseline BMI, gender, age, education, marital status, smoking, cancer site, cancer disease stage, treatment mode and co-morbidities. Additional adjustment for baseline physical activity did not change results.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that a greater emphasis on decreasing television viewing time could help reduce weight gain among colorectal cancer survivors. This, in turn, could contribute to a risk reduction for co-morbid conditions such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Wijndaele
Katrien
K
MRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Road, P.O. Box 285, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK. katrien.wijndaele@mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk
Lynch
Brigid M
BM
Owen
Neville
N
Dunstan
David W
DW
Sharp
Stephen
S
Aitken
Joanne F
JF
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000465:Algorithms; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011153:Population; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017741:Survivors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013690:Television / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013997:Time Factors; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult