Global obesity rates are continuously increasing, having tripled in the last fifty years. Obesity is linked with the occurrence of several co-morbidities including cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. More recently, obesity has emerged as a major determinate of some cancers. There are at least 13 types of cancer which have a higher incidence rate in those who are overweight or obese, including breast, oesophageal and colorectal cancer. Additionally, individuals who are heavier, with a higher body mass index (BMI) at cancer diagnosis have a higher risk of developing a second, unrelated cancer.
Classic features of obesity include metabolic disease, characterised by high blood glucose levels, insulin resistance and persistent low grade inflammation, collectively termed ‘metabolic inflammation’. Poor diet is a well-known driver of metabolic inflammation. Dietary elements and their digested components either increase or decrease inflammation. However, we are only just beginning to understand how the foods we eat might influence cancer risk. We need to better understand if/how different dietary ingredients can regulate metabolic inflammation when a person develops obesity and consumes a high-fat diet (HFD) within the context of cancer. This will allow for a more complete understanding of the role that obesity has on metabolic inflammation in cancer pathogenesis.
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