The home vegetable gardening intervention among older cancer survivors was feasible and suggested improvements in vegetable and fruit consumption and reassurance of worth; data also suggest attenuated increases in waist circumference. Continued study of vegetable gardening interventions is warranted to improve health, health behaviors, and well-being of older cancer survivors.

The results of the current study suggest that a mentored, home-based vegetable gardening intervention is feasible and offers an integrative and durable approach with which to improve health behaviors and outcomes among BCS. Harvest for Health led to the establishment of a group of trained Master Gardeners and gave rise to local and global community-based programs. Larger studies are needed to confirm the results presented herein and to define applicability across broader populations of survivors.

Background:Obesity is associated with aggressive prostate cancer. To explore whether weight loss favourably affects tumour biology and other outcomes, we undertook a presurgical trial among overweight and obese men with prostate cancer.Methods:This single-blinded, two-arm randomised controlled trial explored outcomes of a presurgical weight loss intervention (WLI) that promoted ∼1 kg per week loss via caloric restriction and increased physical activity (PA). Forty overweight/obese men with clinically confirmed prostate cancer were randomised to the WLI presurgery or to a control arm; changes in weight, body composition, quality-of-life, circulating biomarkers, gene expression, and immunohistochemical markers in tumour and benign prostatic tissue were evaluated.Results:The study period averaged 50 days. Mean (s.d.) change scores for the WLI vs control arms were as follows: weight: −4.7 (3.1) kg vs −2.2 (4.4) kg (P=0.0508); caloric intake: −500 (636) vs −159 (600) kcal per day (P=0.0034); PA: +0.9 (3.1) vs +1.7 (4.6) MET-hours per day (NS); vitality: +5.3 (7.l4) vs −1.8 (8.1) (P=0.0491); testosterone: +55.1 (86.0) vs −48.3 (203.7) ng dl−1 (P=0.0418); sex hormone-binding globulin: +14.0 (14.6) vs +1.8 (7.6) nmol l−1 (P=0.0023); and leptin: −2.16 (2.6) vs −0.03 (3.75) (P=0.0355). Follow-up Ki67 was significantly higher in WLI vs control arms; median (interquartile range): 5.0 (2.5,10.0) vs 0.0 (0.0,2.5) (P=0.0061) and several genes were upregulated, for example, CTSL, GSK3B, MED12, and LAMC2.Conclusions:Intentional weight loss shows mixed effects on circulating biomarkers, tumour gene expression, and proliferative markers. More study is needed before recommending weight loss, in particular rapid weight loss, among men with prostate cancer.

BackgroundAdequate dietary intake is important for promoting adaptation and prevention of musculoskeletal injury in response to large volumes of physical training such as Army Initial Entry Training (IET). The purpose of this study was to evaluate training volume and dietary intake and estimate energy balance in Army IET soldiers.MethodsDietary intake was assessed by collecting diet logs for three meals on each of three, non-consecutive days during the first week of IET. Training volume was measured across 13 weeks of training using Actigraph wGT3X accelerometers. Training intensity was classified using Sasaki vector magnitude three cut points. Energy expenditure estimates were calculated during weeks two and three of training using the modified Harris-Benedict equation and by estimation of active energy expenditure using metabolic equivalents for each classification of physical activity. All data is presented as mean ± standard deviation.ResultsA total of 111 male soldiers (ht. = ± 173 ± 5.8 cm, age = 19 ± 2 years, mass = 71.6. ± 12.4 kg) completed diet logs and were monitored with Actigraphs. IET soldiers performed on average 273 ± 62 min low, 107 ± 42 min moderate, 26 ± 22 min vigorous, and 10 ± 21 min of very vigorous intensity physical activity daily across 13 weeks. The estimated total daily energy expenditure was on average 3238 ± 457 kcals/d during weeks two and three of IET. Compared to week one caloric intake, there was a caloric deficit of 595 ± 896 kcals/d on average during weeks two and three of IET. Regression analysis showed that body weight was a significant predictor for negative energy balance (adj. R2 = 0.54, p < 0.001), whereby a 1 kg increase in body mass was associated with a 53 kcal energy deficit.ConclusionsBased on week one dietary assessment, IET soldiers did not consume adequate calories and nutrients to meet training needs during red phase (weeks one through three). This may directly affect soldier performance and injury frequency. IET soldiers undergo rigorous training, and these data may help direct future guidelines for adequate nourishment to optimize soldier health and performance.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12970-018-0262-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.