Aim: Current literature recommends exercise to provide improvements in fatigue and wellbeing during and after cancer treatment. This study measures changes in body tissue composition and fatigue in patients with breast cancer following an 8-week supervised group exercise class.
Design: Participants had their body tissue analysis measured on the SOZO before and after the program. The SOZO device measures muscle mass, fat mass and fluid volumes to provide a lymphoedema index (LDex), calculated through bioimpedance analysis.
Method: Eleven participants were recruited across 2 programs by direct invitation or responding to an advertising flyer. They were either currently having or recently completed treatment at Mater Hospital Brisbane. Fatigue and SOZO measurements were recorded pre-and post-program to measure changes. Results were pooled to determine changes in the mean.
Results: Pre-post program mean fat mass reduced 2.01% of body mass; mean muscle mass increased 0.9%; mean LDex decreased by 1.86; mean BMI decreased by 0.15. All these outcome measures are statistically non-significant. The Facit Fatigue Questionnaire improved 7.28 points from 30.29 to 37.57 (maximum 52).
Conclusion: This is a small sample size and although BMI remained stable, we see trends towards a positive change in body tissue composition with reduced fat mass, increased muscle mass, a decrease in fatigue levels and no increase of LDex.
Key Practice Points