Dr. Matus-Castillo, Carlos

Background: Housewives represent a important proportion of the Chilean population. However, there is limited evidence about their lifestyles. Aim: To characterize lifestyles and determine the level of compliance with healthy lifestyles guidelines of housewives in Chile. Material and Methods: Housewives from the 2009-2010 National Health Survey were included. The variables studied included levels of physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior, diet, hours of sleep and smoking. Compliance with healthy lifestyle behaviors was evaluated through logistic regression, granting a value of 1 for compliance and 0 for non-compliance. A healthy lifestyle was defined as meeting at least four healthy behaviors. Results: Housewives aged > 55 years had a higher BMI and waist circumference compared to those aged < 40 years. Housewives were also more likely to report moderate alcohol consumption and were more likely to meet a healthier lifestyle score (Odds ratio = 1.52 [95% confidence intervals: 1.09 to 2.11], p = 0.013). No significant age trends were observed for other lifestyle behaviors. Conclusions: Housewives had high levels of central obesity, excess body weight and high levels of salt intake but low alcohol intake. Their healthy lifestyles behaviors increased along with increasing age.

Background: One of the side effects of cancer treatment is a low level of physical activity (PA) due to fatigue and pain. Aim: To quantify PA levels in Chilean people with cancer. Material and Methods: Analysis of the National Health Survey 2016-2017 including 6,233 participants, comparing those with and without a self-report of cancer was conducted. Levels of PA and sitting time were assessed using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. Results: 3% of participants [confidence intervals (CI): 2.6; 3.9] reported having cancer and 34% [95% CI: 22.7; 46.7] of these reported being physically inactive, compared to 25% [95% CI: 22.5; 27,3] of those without cancer. Participants with cancer performed 56 and 77 minutes/day lower vigorous and total PA than participants without cancer. No differences between groups were observed for commuting PA, moderate PA and sedentary time. Lower level of PA was independent of the years elapsed since the diagnosis of cancer. Conclusions: People with cancer are less physically active than their counterparts without the disease.