Support Care Cancer. 2025 Jun 26;33(7):630. doi: 10.1007/s00520-025-09672-7.ABSTRACTAIM: Postoperative colorectal cancer (CRC) patients have less physical activity (PA) and prolonged sedentary time, which negatively affects their quality of life and longevity. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of an exercise intervention based on the multi-theory model (MTM) on the time of and willingness to perform PA in postoperative CRC patients.METHODS: A quasi-experimental study was conducted with an intervention group and a control group. A convenience sampling method was used to include 70 CRC patients admitted to the Department of Colorectal Surgery of a Grade III hospital in Jilin Province, China. The intervention group received basic nursing care + MTM exercise intervention, and the control group received basic nursing care + knowledge-based education. The duration of the intervention was 1 month. The Measuring Change in Physical Activity Questionnaire (MCPAQ), the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), and the Core Quality of Life Scale (EORTC-QLQ-30) were used to evaluate patients at admission, 1 week after the intervention, and 1 month after the intervention. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, repeated-measures ANOVA to analyze differences at multiple time points, and independent sample t tests or rank-sum tests for comparisons between groups.RESULTS: The demographic characteristics were similar between the two groups at baseline (p > 0.05). In the intervention group, the willingness to perform PA, walking duration (light-intensity physical activity, LPA), moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) duration, and quality of life were greater than those in the control group (p < 0.05) at 1 week and 1 month after the exercise intervention. In addition, sedentary behavior (SB) was lower in the intervention group than in the control group (p < 0.05). In addition, the measurements over time also revealed positive effects of exercise intervention on PA duration and willingness to perform PA in postoperative CRC patients in the intervention group.CONCLUSION: Exercise interventions based on the MTM are important for improving the duration of and willingness to perform PA, improving quality of life, and reducing sedentary time in postoperative CRC patients.PMID:40571809 | DOI:10.1007/s00520-025-09672-7