A recent study evaluated how a mobile app-based coaching program can help overweight or obese breast cancer survivors control their body weight, BMI, triglyceride levels, and body composition. Learn about the key findings with this recap of an abstract that was presented at the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
Obesity is a prognostic factor for breast cancer recurrence and death. Further complicating this is the fact that menopause, chemotherapy, anti-hormonal therapy, and psychological issues can all make weight control difficult for breast cancer survivors.
So to evaluate how a mobile app-based coaching program may be able to help breast cancer survivors control their weight, a recent study was conducted and presented as an abstract at the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
How the Study Was Designed
130 breast cancer survivors with a BMI greater than or equal to 25 were enrolled in a single-arm prospective cohort study. Over the course of 24 weeks, they received education and support on diet, exercise, and psychology topics from trained, human coaches via the mobile app Noom.
A subgroup of the participants were labeled as the hyperactive group; these patients joined the program for more than 16 weeks, and their weight, BMI, lipid level, bioimpedance, and quality of life were evaluated at baseline, at the 6-month mark and at the follow-up at 12-months.
What the Study Found
Out of the total 130 participants, 101 breast cancer survivors completed the 6-month program, and 93 survivors completed the 12-month follow-up portion of the study. In the hyperactive group, the coaching program significantly reduced participants’ body weight and BMI after 6 months. That loss was maintained at the 12-month mark without any yo-yo effects.
Similar results were seen in participants’ lipid panels as their triglyceride levels decreased significantly and were maintained at the 12-month follow-up.
However, when it came to bioimpedance components, like skeletal muscle mass, body fat mass, percent body fat, waist-hip ratio, and visceral fat area, all of those levels improved during the first 6 months, but participants’ waist-hip ratio and visceral fat area increased during the next 6 months.
Lastly, nausea/vomiting, constipation, body image, and arm and breast symptoms all significantly improved during the first 6 months based on criteria in the EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-BR23 questionnaires.
What the Study Means for Breast Cancer Survivors
Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that a coaching program via a mobile app, like Noom, can help overweight or obese breast cancer survivors control their body weight, BMI, triglyceride levels, and body composition in bioimpedance over the course of 24 weeks.
Reference
S. Jung, et al. Effectiveness of 24-week mobile application based human coaching program for controlling weight, BMI and body composition in overweight/obese breast cancer survivors: Single-arm prospective cohort study. 2023; page 33. 2023 SABCS Abstract Report-12-1-23 (atgproductions.net). Accessed December, 5 2023.