Nutrition evaluation followed by educational activities to promote healthy eating habits in women with breast cancer attending a support group in southern Minas Gerais

Abstract

DOI: 10.12957/interag.2016.15487

This study aimed to conduct nutrition evaluation in women with breast cancer seeing a support group that offers orientation and therapeutic support. Based on the results of the evaluation, food and nutritional education (FNE) actions were developed and presented. The activities were conducted by a group of undergraduate students who attended the discipline of FNE within the Nutrition course at the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA). The quality of the participants’ diet was assessed by means of a questionnaire based on the Food Guide of the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Anthropometric measurements were obtained to calculate body mass index (BMI) and waist-hip ratio (WHR). From the results of the preliminary assessment, the content of the educational activities were directed. These activities consisted in group dynamics, a workshop of healthy juices, a lecture on nutrition, and the delivery of folders containing information on healthy eating habits. The nutritional evaluation indicated that the participants’ diet was inadequate and was not in agreement with specific recommendations for patients with breast cancer. BMI assessment classified participants as overweight, and mean WHR of the group was above the limit. The proposed activities provided different situations so that the participants would be able to develop critical skills so as to make better choices regarding nutrition. The undergraduate students who conducted the activities were able, due to the experience, to act as educators and use what they learned in order to transform reality, thus creating the possibility to reflect on the dimensions of the other, which is a key factor in the formation of these professionals.