Sociodemographic Barriers to Physical Activity and Healthy Diet Through Social Networks in Mexican Breast Cancer Survivors

Abstract

Introduction Female breast cancer (BC) survivors are affected by poor eating habits and physical inactivity due to certain environmental, physical, and social barriers to healthy lifestyles. This study aimed to identify the sociodemographic, physical, and economic barriers hindering the adoption of physical activity (PA) and a healthy diet, as well as providing insights into how BC survivors cope with these barriers using social networks. Methods A cross-sectional mixed-methods study was conducted, with a self-administered questionnaire and open-ended questions to determine the barriers to PA and healthy eating, while in the second phase, an interpretive qualitative study was carried out with semi-structured interviews. Descriptive statistics, odds ratios (ORs), correspondence analysis, and multivariate analysis were used to estimate the association between moderate to vigorous PA and fruit and vegetable consumption and BC covariates. Results During the COVID-19 lockdown, 150 Mexican BC survivors were studied. The multivariate analysis showed that age (OR = 2.7, 95% CI: 1.0 to 7.03), socioeconomic level (OR = 3.2, 95% CI: 1.3 to 8.2), and overweight (OR = 3.6, 95% CI: 1.5 to 9.7) were significantly associated with low schooling. BC diagnosis of less than three years and age > 40 years were associated with lack of exercise. Survivors individually addressed the challenges associated with BC without the support of specialists. As a result, they sought information on social networks. Conclusions Regarding BC survivors, age > 40 years, low socioeconomic status, and being overweight were important gaps to PA and a healthy diet. In the testimonials, the primary obstacle to engaging in PA was lack of time, while the high cost of food was the most frequently cited reason for not following a healthy diet. Many of the individuals maintained a poor diet with a low intake of fruits and vegetables. Thus, appropriate information must be provided using technologies to develop skills to deal with BC.