Colorectal cancer is an important health problem, being the third most frequent cancer pathology both in men and women. Programmes have been developed to decrease CRC incidence and mortality, including primary prevention strategies focusing on population education regarding diet and physical activity and secondary prevention programmes such as screening. Modifiable risk factors are known to be diet, obesity, smoking, alcohol and read meat consumption. Non-modifiable risk factors are age, inflammatory bowel disease, genetic syndromes and family history of colorectal cancer.
Obesity affects the population worldwide. A hypercaloric diet associated with a sedentary life, stress, and genetic background, triggers various metabolic disorders, such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and cognitive impairment. A healthy diet correlated with physical activity, not smoking, and moderate alcohol consumption reduces the risk of developing metabolic diseases. The Mediterranean diet contains antioxidants, fiber, polyunsaturated fats, and compounds with anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, and anti-obesity properties. In a wide variety of species including humans, the reduction of calories between 20-40% significantly improves health, increases longevity, and delays the development of various pathologies. The main aim of this review is to present the comparative effects of the Mediterranean diet versus the hypercaloric diet on insulin sensitivity.
