Diabetes mellitus affects more than 500 million people worldwide and its prevalence, especially type 2 diabetes, has been steadily increasing in recent decades (with an estimated global increase of around 50 per cent in 2045). Globally, deaths due to diabetes and its chronic complications in 2019 are estimated to be around 6 million. Impaired fasting blood glucose and impaired glucose tolerance describe prediabetic conditions. These two conditions, both individually and in combination, are also very frequent worldwide (affecting approximately 7-10% of the global population) and represent not only risk factors for the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus, but also risk factors associated with the development of long-term vascular and kidney function complications. In the absence of effective therapeutic strategies (which are mainly based on lifestyle changes), approximately 5-10% of the population with prediabetes progresses to type 2 diabetes each year.