title: Self-reported physical activity among middle-aged cancer survivors in the United States: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey, 2009.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Regular physical activity (PA) can improve health outcomes in cancer survivors, but the rate of adherence to PA recommendations among middle-aged survivors is unclear. We examined adherence to PA recommendations among cancer survivors and controls. We sought to identify correlates of adherence to PA and to determine whether PA adherence is associated with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among cancer survivors.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined PA adherence among 8,655 cancer survivors and 144,213 control subjects aged 45-64 years who were respondents to the 2009 Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System survey. We used multinomial logistic regression to assess associations between PA adherence and demographic, psychosocial, and clinical factors, and multivariable linear regression to assess the relationship between PA adherence and HRQOL of cancer survivors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cancer survivors and control subjects had similar rates of PA adherence. Of the survivors, 47% met the recommendations of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity PA or 120 minutes of vigorous-intensity PA per week, 41% were somewhat active, and 12% were sedentary. Compared with cancer survivors who were sedentary, survivors who were somewhat active were less likely to be obese (odds ratio [OR], 0.65; P < .007), and those who met PA recommendations were less likely to be overweight (OR, 0.61; P < .002) or obese (OR, 0.33, P < .001). Regression analysis indicated that PA adherence was positively correlated with HRQOL (P < .001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most cancer survivors did not meet PA recommendations, but those who are active seem to have improved HRQOL. Therefore, targeted interventions to improve adherence to PA among cancer survivors are needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Internal Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1400 Herman Pressler St, Houston, TX 77030. E-mail: pnayak@mdanderson.org.
authors.forename: Pratibha
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nayak
authors.affiliation: The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.
authors.forename: Holly M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.affiliation: The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.
authors.forename: Hoang T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.
authors.forename: Linda S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Elting
mesh_terms: D040343:Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology