13 Feb Exercise
It has been observed that like adult oncology patients, pediatric patients also decrease their physical activity levels both during and after treatment, which probably accelerates the side effects after treatment.
Physical activity is positively associated with: weight management, cardiorespiratory fitness, musculoskeletal integrity, emotional well-being and reduces premature mortality in adulthood. On the other hand, reduced levels of physical activity are associated with reduced cardiorespiratory function, aerobic capacity and motor skills, increasing the risk of cachexia and fatigue associated with cancer (4).
The literature to date highlights the positive impact of exercise on organ system function, fatigue and physical well-being in children both during and after treatment. It is clear that children who exercise increase aerobic capacity and strength with the latter resulting in neuromuscular adaptations rather than skeletal muscle hypertrophy. Another difference observed compared to adults is that children have a much better developed aerobic system than anaerobic (4).
During the literature review, very often the interesting paradox of undernutrition in oncological patients who are in the same period of time and with excess body weight and/or have entered the stage of obesity also appears. The paradox concerns that these children may be confronted with nutritional deficiencies and complications (8). Of course, it has been observed that as adults they also have an increased risk for metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is characterized by a group of diseases including hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity (4).