Acceptability of a healthy lifestyles programme
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring the Acceptability of a Healthy Lifestyles Programme for Healthy Weight Young Women Who Are at Increased Risk of Breast Cancer
IRAS ID
242772
Contact name
Michelle Harvie
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT)
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Research Summary
Breast cancer is a global public health problem. In 2014, breast cancer accounted for 16.6% of all cancer-related deaths among women living in the UK. The International Agency for Research on Cancer suggests that 25% of breast cancer worldwide is caused by obesity. Therefore, women who become overweight or obese are at greater risk of developing breast cancer. For women who are already have an increased risk of breast cancer due to a history of the illness within their family, the growing rates of obesity are particularly concerning, because excessive weight gain among these women will further increase their risk.
Experts suggest that weight gain prevention is necessary to reduce women’s risk of breast cancer. To date, female weight gain prevention interventions have been tested within educational and primary care settings, yet there have been no attempts to create a weight gain prevention intervention to help reduce or stabilise women’s risk of breast cancer. Thus, there is a need to develop a weight gain prevention intervention for this group. However, in order to design and maximise the success of such an intervention, it is important to speak directly to women who are at increased risk of breast cancer, to find out if these women are interested and what they would want and need from this intervention. This study will interview women at increased risk of breast cancer to find out what they think about such an intervention.Summary of Results
14 women aged 26-35 years at increased risk of breast cancer were interviewed about their views on a programme to help women at increased risk of breast cance to avoid weight gain in early adulthood. Four themes emerged: (1) perceptions of a healthy lifestyle: women's perceptions included health-related behaviours and subjective wellbeing: (2) construing a healthy weight: women rely on appearance, feelings and others' opinions to construe weight instead of quantitative indicators; (3) configuring a useful programme: the idea of a programme that is remotely accessible, provides a pointy of contact; and promotes general wellbeing was appealing. Women believed information explaining the link between lifestyle and breast cancer would facilitate behaviour change; (4) the importance of will (power): women recognised that commitment to a programme is affected by time, money and readiness to change. A weight gain prevention intervention that focuses on wellbeing and behaviour change appears acceptable to many healthy weight women.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 5
REC reference
18/WS/0050
Date of REC Opinion
27 Mar 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion