13 Feb Physical Activity
Childhood cancer is one of the top 5 causes of death among children in Europe. More specifically, it is responsible for 18.5% of deaths of boys aged 10-14 years and 10.7% of boys aged 15-19 years, as well as 21.7% of deaths of girls aged 10-14 years and 16.1% of girls aged 15-19 years. Each year, more than 35,000 new cases are diagnosed with cancer.
Part of the interventions for childhood cancer include chemotherapy. Chemotherapy suppresses the immune system so that there is a potential impact on normal development and an increased risk of developing an infection or delayed growth. Reduced physical activity has been observed both during and after cancer treatment and this is due to the very existence of the disease and the practices used to treat it. The consequences of this are malnutrition and/or obesity due to the disease, reduced cardiorespiratory function and muscle mass, fatigue and change in functionality.
Interventional exercise programmes are still rare, in 10 different countries about 46 programmes have been conducted – mostly in Europe. Basically this is because there is a fear of encouraging exercise due to the feelings of pain, exhaustion and weakness experienced by children overall.
According to a meta-analysis conducted in 2016 (Cohrane), there are still no firm conclusions about the effects of exercise interventions, but positive effects on body composition, flexibility, cardiorespiratory function, muscle strength and quality of life are seen.