Leukemia Research 37 (2013) 14–20 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Leukemia Research jou rnal h omepa g e: www.elsevier.com/locate/leukres Physical activity of pediatric patients with acute leukemia undergoing induction or consolidation chemotherapy Sue Yee Tan a , Bee Koon Poh a,∗ , Hui Xian Chong a , Mohd Noor Ismail b , Jamal Rahman c , Abd Latiff Zarina c , Abd Rahman Eni Juraida d , Aris Tahir e , Abd Talib Ruzita a , Rajikan Roslee a , Safii Nik Shanita a , Alias Hamidah c , Mohd Ibrahim Hisham Shah d , Abd Karim Norimah a a Physical Activity and Energy Metabolism Research Group, School of Healthcare Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia b Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 42300 Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia c Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Cheras, Malaysia d Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Institute, Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia e Institute for Public Health, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 16 April 2012 Received in revised form 3 September 2012 Accepted 5 September 2012 Available online 23 October 2012 Keywords: Accelerometry Anthropometry Chemotherapy Children Leukemia Pediatric Physical activity Sedentary a b s t r a c t This study aimed to assess the physical activity levels of pediatric patients with acute leukemia under- going chemotherapy. Thirty-eight pediatric patients and matched controls, aged 3–12 years old, were measured for weight, height, and other anthropometric parameters. Physical activity was assessed using actical accelerometer and activity log book. Patients recorded significantly lower mean total activ- ity counts (26.2 ± 30.2 cpm vs. 192.2 ± 68.8 cpm; p < 0.01) and spent more time in sedentary activities (1301 ± 121 min vs. 1020 ± 101 min; p < 0.001) compared to controls. They also achieved fewer 1–5-min bouts of moderate–vigorous physical activity (MVPA) compared to controls (1.50 ± 5.95 vs. 37.38 ± 40.36; p < 0.001). In conclusion, patients had lower physical activity level and intensity; and simple exercise intervention programs may be needed to minimize the detrimental effects of prolonged sedentary behaviors. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction For the past decades, a combination of therapy has led to a higher survival rate of approximately 80% among leukemia patients, how- ever, cancer and its treatment have severe implications for young patients [1]. The prolonged use of drugs may cause children to be prone to obesity, suffer growth hormones interruption, and may produce negative effects on bone density [2]. Almost all leukemia patients experience a reduction in their physical activity level, however, very little research has been con- ducted on this particular group of children [3], with the exception ∗ Corresponding author at: Physical Activity and Energy Metabolism Research Group, Nutritional Sciences Programme, School of Healthcare Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tel.: +60 392897686; fax: +60 326947621. E-mail address: pbkoon@fskb.ukm.my (B.K. Poh). of few existing studies of long-term survivors of the disease [4,5] or patients undergoing chemotherapy in the maintenance phase [6,7], which is the later treatment cycle commonly conducted in an outpatient setting. To the best of our knowledge, there is only one study by Winter et al. [3] which has assessed the level of activity among pediatric cancer patient undergoing treatment in the early stages of induction and consolidation phases. The authors mea- sured the level of physical activity among oncology patients during their in-patient stay for cancer treatment, as well as during home- stay without treatment. Thus, there remains a severe lack of data reporting the level of physical activity among pediatric patients, especially during in-patient treatments in the clinical setting. Besides that, most studies on the level of physical activity use self-reports for measurement, which have been found to produce inconsistent results [8]. In contrast, accelerometry is known to be particularly useful for assessing physical activity because the technique provides an objective and non-obstructive measurement of the frequency, intensity and duration of 0145-2126/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.leukres.2012.09.005