Obese subjects are commonly deficient in several micronutrients. Weight loss, although beneficial, may also lead to adverse changes in micronutrient status and body composition. The objective of the study is to assess changes in micronutrient status and body composition in obese individuals after a dietary weight loss program.

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in the Western world. Apart from surgery - which remains the mainstay of treatment for resectable primary tumours - postoperative (i.e., adjuvant) chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) based regimens is now the standard treatment in Dukes´ C (TNM stage III) colon tumours i.e. tumours with metastases in the regional lymph nodes but no distant metastases. In contrast, the evidence for recommendations of adjuvant therapy in rectal cancer is sparse. In Europe it is generally acknowledged that locally advanced rectal tumours receive preoperative (i.e., neoadjuvant) downstaging by radiotherapy (or chemoradiotion), whereas in the US postoperative chemoradiotion is considered the treatment of choice in all Dukes´ C rectal cancers. Overall, no universal consensus exists on the adjuvant treatment of surgically resectable rectal carcinoma; moreover, no formal systematic review and meta-analysis has been so far performed on this subject.

Patients who screen positive for alcohol misuse on the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test Consumption Questionnaire (AUDIT-C ≥5 points) have significantly increased postoperative complications. Severe alcohol misuse (AUDIT-C ≥9 points) is associated with increased postoperative health care use; however, little is known about the prevalence of alcohol misuse in demographic and clinical subgroups of surgical patients.