Background: The adoption of protective health behaviors, such as physical activity (PA) and healthy nutritional practices during childhood cancer treatments should be encouraged. This study aimed to document PA levels and diet quality before and after a multidisciplinary family lifestyle intervention, and to assess whether differences in PA levels and diet quality were associated with the degree of participation in the intervention.
Methods: A multidisciplinary intervention (exercise intervention, nutritional, psychosocial support) was offered to families of children receiving treatments for childhood cancer. PA levels were assessed by self-reported total, moderate, and vigorous intensity minutes of physical activity. Diet quality was assessed using a dietary quality indicator. Participation in the intervention was measured by overall and domain-specific points of contact. We used non-parametric tests to evaluate changes over time and differences with an ad hoc comparison group.
Results: In 38 participants, we found that there was a significant difference in total minutes of PA pre- and post-intervention (p = 0.022, r = 0.27), but no difference in diet quality (p = 0.136, r = 0.19). We found that minutes of vigorous intensity PA improved rather than deteriorated (OR = 2.19, 95%CI: 1.13–4.25). Improvements in minutes of vigorous intensity PA were associated with participation in the intervention.
Conclusion: In its current form, this multidisciplinary lifestyle intervention is associated with limited improvements in PA. Before testing its effects in studies with adequate statistical power, the program should be refined to limit heterogeneity in levels of participation and optimize its active ingredients.
Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12887-025-05727-0.
Keywords: Exercise; Family intervention; Lifestyle intervention; Nutrition; Pediatric cancer; Psychosocial support.