Abstract 4219: An exergaming intervention to reduce breast cancer risk in Black women
Authors: Dash Chiranjeev , Hicks Jennifer , Watkins Vivian , Mills Mary , Hagberg James , Adams-Campbell Lucile L. 
Published: July 2017

Obesity and low physical activity rates contribute to high rates of postmenopausal breast cancer in Black women. Use of new and exciting strategies to increase physical activity should be tested in health disparity populations at high risk of cancer. We tested the effect of a six-month exercise intervention using the active videogaming systems (exergaming) on anthropometric markers, body composition, and cardiovascular fitness (VO2max) in overweight and obese Black women. We conducted a six-month, two-arm randomized clinical trial comparing an exergaming intervention group to a control group in 100 cancer-free, overweight/obese, sedentary Black women who were 40-59 years of age. Participants were randomized to a supervised facility-based exergaming group (n=50) or a usual care control group (n=50). Participants in the exergaming group followed an exercise program using the Nintendo Wii Fit and/or the X-Box Kinect gaming systems under supervision of a clinical exercise physiologist. Control group participants were asked to maintain their normal daily activities. Endpoints were assessed at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Assessments included measurements of demographic variables, medical history, physical activity, VO2max, anthropometric variables (height, weight, waist and hip circumferences), and body composition. Distribution of baseline characteristics between exergaming and control groups was comparable except for education status and BMI. Data on 3 month and 6-month follow-up were available for 66 participants. Follow-up rates were similar for exergaming and control groups. Compared to control group participants whose waist circumference on average remained unchanged, exergaming group participants had lower waist circumference at 3-months and 6- months compared to baseline (mean change: -2.54 cm, P=0.05). Exergaming participants also had small changes in weight (-1.4 lbs) at 6 months compared to control group in whom average weight remained unchanged but this finding was not statistically significant. Fat mass and lean mass as measured by DXA did not show any changes at 3-months or 6-months in either the exergaming or the control group. This pilot study of a short-term exergaming in overweight/obese Black women was associated with small changes in waist circumference in the intervention group. Given the challenges associated with traditional physical activity interventions to reduce cancer risk, new and non-traditional interventions like exergaming should be tested in larger studies in health disparity populations.

Citation Format: Chiranjeev Dash, Jennifer Hicks, Vivian Watkins, Mary Mills, James Hagberg, Lucile L. Adams-Campbell. An exergaming intervention to reduce breast cancer risk in Black women [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4219. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-4219