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Title: Parental involvement in exercise and diet interventions for childhood cancer survivors: A systematic review

Author
item RABER, MARGARET - Md Anderson Cancer Center
item SWARTZ, MARIA - University Of Texas Medical Branch
item SANTA MARIA, DIANE - University Of Texas
item O'CONNOR, TERESIA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item BARANOWSKI, TOM - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item LI, RHEA - Md Anderson Cancer Center
item CHANDRA, JOYA - Md Anderson Cancer Center

Submitted to: Pediatric Research
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/16/2016
Publication Date: 4/11/2016
Citation: Raber, M., Swartz, M.C., Santa Maria, D., O'Connor, T., Baranowski, T., Li, R., Chandra, J. 2016. Parental involvement in exercise and diet interventions for childhood cancer survivors: A systematic review. Pediatric Research. doi: 10.1038/pr.2016.84.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Childhood cancer survivors (CCS) are at risk of becoming overweight or obese due to treatment effects and/or post-treatment behaviors. Parents are key agents influencing child diet and physical activity (PA), which are modifiable risk factors for obesity. A systematic literature review following the Prefered Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses(PRISMA) guidelines was undertaken to evaluate current interventions that include diet and PA elements for CCS to determine if and to what extent parents were included, and whether parent involvement had a significant effect on behavioral outcomes or adiposity. A total of 2,386 potential articles were reviewed and 25 individual studies fulfilled inclusion criteria. Parental involvement was classified into three categories and varied across studies, although most had indirect or no parental involvement. The studies that included direct parental involvement showed positive outcomes on a variety of measures suggesting that increasing parental involvement in interventions for CCS may be one way to promote long-term lifestyle changes for pediatric cancer patients. However, additional research directly addressing parental involvement in obesity prevention and treatment among CCS is warranted.