A total of 79 women reported smoking regularly (161%),
although 418% of them wanted to quit smoking within
that month. A third of the participants (321%) reported
that they did not drink alcohol, whereas 628% drank alcohol
occasionally or did not exceed the recommended limits,
i.e. no more than a unit a day (Boyle et al. 2003), equivalent
to one glass of wine or one glass of beer or one single
small shot of spirits.
A substantial proportion (693%) undertook some physical
activity, with an average of 504 days per week,
although less than half of them (457%) followed the health
authority recommendations of 5 days per week of moderate-intensity
aerobic activity and at least 30 minutes each
of these days (Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee
2008). Approximately half of the participants were
above the recommended weight (BMI >25 kg/m2
): 368%
were overweight and 122% were obese as defined by the
WHO criteria (WHO 2011c).
Most women (925%) used sunscreen and all reported
that they either did not work or were not exposed to risks
in their workplaces. Table 2 shows the percentages of risk
behaviours by age, level of education and time since diagnosis
in years, as well as the statistical significance.
When comparing the different behavioural risk factors by
age groups, significant smoking rates, excess weight and low
levels of physical activity were found to be significantly higher
in younger women. Women with a lower education level
smoked less, were more likely to be overweight and engaged
in more physical activity than those participants with a higher
level of education. These differences were significant.
Regarding time since cancer diagnosis, there was only one
statistically significant relationship: women were significantly
less likely to report being overweight 5 years after diagnosis.
No significant differences were found in alcohol intake or
sun protection. With regard to diet, the average number of
servings per year of healthy and unhealthy foods was
15934 and 34121 respectively. Only 38% of the interviewed
women showed values equal to or below the risk
threshold (09).
Table 3 lists th