Nutritional habits and lifestyle in a population of cancer patients in the south of Italy

The research involved a sample of 150 patients with a diagnosis of cancer, with the aim of assessing food habits and lifestyle. Smoking, physical activity and diet have been observed so as to seek for possible correlation with cancer. Patients involved had different types of cancer: data regarding correlation between diet and gastrointestinal cancer have been specifically assessed. Surprisingly, most patients, who declared to follow Mediterranean diet, instead, by actually analysing type and quantities of specific food , followed a different pattern. Therefore, in a population of South of Italy, one of the places which gave birth to Mediterranean diet, the protective effect of this kind of diet against many diseases is now at risk. Furthermore, a statistically significant correlation between nutritional pattern and gastrointestinal cancer has been found.