The effects of an aqua-fitness program on body image in breast cancer survivors: a pilot study

Purpose: the purpose of the present pilot study is to investigate the effects of a water fitness program on body image among breast cancer survivors. Methods: Nine volunteers women (age: 52.6 ± 10.1 years; weight: 69.5 ± 11.7 kg; height: 1.66 ± 0.1 m; BMI: 24.9 ± 2.7 kg/m2) enrolled in the National Association of Breast Operated Women participated in this four-months (January 2023 to April 2023) pilot study. All of them underwent surgical treatment, as well as chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The inclusion criteria were to be in good health and to have completed the treatment since at least three months. The intervention included thirteen 1-h supervised sessions of aqua-fitness. Thirty minutes after the end of each session the enjoyment was evaluated using the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) (Graves, et al., 2010) whereas the perceived fatigue was assessed by means of the sessions Rate of Perceived Exertion (sRPE) scale (Foster et al., 1995). Before the beginning and one week after the end of the intervention anthropometric measures and body image were assessed. For the body image investigation, the Italian version of the Body Image Scale has been adopted (Cheli, et al., 2016) to measure the impact of pathology on body image. Results: Results from PACES scale showed high levels of enjoyability (95 ± 7.9%). According to the sRPE (4, 01 ± 0, 49), subjects rated the intensity of the activity as moderate. Finally, results from the BIS scale showed that, overall, body image improved from pre (11.70 ± 9.45) to post (7.78 ± 7.66) intervention. Conclusions: The results of this study showed that a four-months aqua-fitness program might bring effective improvements on the body image among breast cancer survivors. The proposed activity was enjoyed by the participants, it is a feasible and safe activity since it was supervised and no accidents or adverse effects were recorded. Nevertheless, further research should evaluate the effect of this program involving a higher number of participants for a longer period. Acknowledgments: Authors would like to thanks all the patients involved in the study. References: Cheli, S., Agostini, A., Herd-Smith, A., Caligiani, L., Martella, F., & Fioretto, L. (2016). The Italian version of Body Image Scale Reliability and Sensitivity in a sample of breast cancer patients. Psicoterapia Cognitiva e Comportamentale, 22(1). Foster, C.; Florhaug, J.A.; Franklin, J.; Gottschall, L.; Hrovatin, L.A.; Parker, S.; Doleshal, P.; Dodge, C. A newapproach to monitoring exercise training. J. Strength Cond. Res. 2001, 15, 109–115. Graves, L.E.F.; Ridgers, N.D.; Williams, K.; Stratton, G.; Atkinson, G.; Cable, N.T. The physiological cost andenjoyment of Wii fit in adolescents, young adults, and older adults. J. Phys. Act. Health 2010, 7, 393–401.