Obesity, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes: emerging epidemics and their cardiovascular implications

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain the leading cause of death in diabetic patients. The clustering of atherogenic risk factors in diabetic and prediabetic persons is an important contributor to this increased risk. In addition, overweight, obesity, and the metabolic syndrome, which are powerful predictors of incident type 2 diabetes also predispose to coronary heart disease. The continuing epidemic of these conditions has tremendous implications for CVD. Aggressive efforts in population-based primary prevention strategies that address excess caloric intake and physical inactivity are needed. Increased adherence to established clinical guidelines for primary and secondary prevention of CVD in diabetic patients is crucial. A key research challenge is to identify novel approaches to facilitate translation of the best science into practice.