Dietary behaviours, physical activity and quality of life among childhood cancer survivors in Mainland China: A cross-sectional study

Objective To examine the dietary behaviours, physical activity (PA) and quality of life (QoL) of childhood cancer survivors (CCS) in Mainland China and explore the relationships between these behaviours and QoL. Methods This cross-sectional study recruited 181 CCS from three Grade-A tertiary hospitals in Guangzhou. Survivors completed questionnaires assessing their dietary behaviours, PA and QoL. Results Only 2.2%, 7.7% and 2.2% of CCS reported frequent soft drinks, sugar and fast food intake, which were lower compared to CCS in Western studies. Most survivors (72.9%) failed to drink milk daily, and many (54.7%) were picky eating. Sixty percent of CCS reported less moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) time than 60 min/day recommended by WHO. Picky eating was significantly associated with lower overall (p < 0.001), physical (p < 0.001) and psychosocial (p < 0.001) QoL. MVPA was significantly positively associated with overall (p < 0.05) and psychosocial (p < 0.01) QoL. Conclusions Chinese CCS engaged better dietary behaviours of less soft drinks, sugar and fast food consumption, but many were picky eaters and did not meet milk intake and PA recommendations. Early behavioural interventions aimed at increasing the dietary diversity and MVPA level of this population should be taken to improve their QoL.