Leaders Call for Vital Changes to Stem Growing Public Health Epidemic of Obesity, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease

    BOSTON, Dec. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "Reducing Cardiometabolic
 Risk: What Are The Barriers?" a roundtable debate featuring the
 chairpersons of the 2006 Cardiometabolic Health Congress (CHC), identified
 the combined impact of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease as the
 biggest health problem facing the world today. Early
 intervention/prevention, reimbursement and societal changes are cited as
 critical for making significant progress.
     Cardiometabolic risk (CMR) factors are associated with four of the top
 10 leading causes of death -- heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer.
 CMR is comprised of a set of risk factors that viewed together, are good
 indicators of a person's overall risk of developing heart disease and type
 2 diabetes. These include: obesity, high LDL ("bad") cholesterol, high
 blood fat (triglycerides), low HDL ("good") cholesterol, high blood
 pressure, smoking and physical inactivity.
     The full discussion, which includes their proposed changes to improve
 outcomes, is now available in audio and written transcript at
 http://www.cardiometabolichealth.org.
     The CHC chairpersons are:
 
     * Jay S. Skyler, MD, MACP, Professor of Medicine, University of Miami
       Miller School of Medicine.  Dr. Skyler is an expert in diabetes research
       and a key opinion leader in the field of endocrinology
     * Christie M. Ballantyne, MD, Professor of Medicine, Baylor College of
       Medicine.  Dr. Ballantyne is a cardiologist and conducts research on
       prevention and identifying risk factors for coronary heart disease
     * Richard W. Nesto, MD, Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School.  Dr.
       Nesto is an interventional cardiologist and clinical researcher on
       diabetes, insulin resistance and coronary disease
     Key points raised by Congress Chairpersons drove the debate towards the
 following themes:
     "Obesity has been adopted as a risk factor yet relatively few
 practitioners look at obesity as something that needs an intervention. As a
 society we need to change the mindset that weight loss should be
 cosmetically driven, not medically driven."
     "Overweight and obesity are on the rise thereby increasing the
 incidence of diabetes and cardiovascular disease at an alarming rate. We
 must adapt early intervention strategies to treat all critical risk
 factors."
     "Getting diabetes when you're 20 is a new phenomenon ... people in
 their 40s are going to end up with cardiovascular, kidney and eye disease
 and the
     cost to society is going to be extraordinary. We should no longer wait
 until end-stage disease to make an impact."
     "Even when we go to put the lifestyle systems in place, we don't get
 the reimbursement to support or sustain them."
     To download the audio file of this roundtable or view the complete
 written transcript, please visit cardiometabolichealth.org. For interview
 requests, please contact GinaMarie Mangiaracina / Chandler Chicco Agency /
 202-609-6003 or gmangiaracina@ccapr.com.
 
 

SOURCE Cardiometabolic Health Congress