Dear Colleagues,

We would like to welcome you to the 4^th edition of the “International Congress on Abdominal Obesity: Bridging the Gap Between Cardiology and Diabetology” (ICAO). This meeting is organized jointly by the International Chair on Cardiometabolic Risk and the Korean Society of Lipidology and Atherosclerosis. The meeting will take a multidisciplinary approach to the assessment and management of abdominal obesity as a key risk factor for the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Evidence suggests that the worldwide epidemic of abdominal obesity cannot be handled by the current medical model in which complications such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease are often evaluated and managed in isolation. Medical treatment focuses on the management of complications by pharmacotherapy and expensive procedures rather than on working upstream in order to avoid the development of abdominal obesity and related complications. In addition, physicians most often do not have access to the proper multidisciplinary resources to improve patients’ nutritional and physical activity habits and to prevent the development of these costly cardiometabolic diseases.

The biological and environmental causes of abdominal obesity will be examined at this meeting. We will highlight emerging concepts with a focus on translation to define new paradigms for its assessment and management. The Congress will examine and discuss novel approaches, and share scientific and clinical data to benefit regional healthcare professionals, clinicians and scientists. The fight against the worldwide epidemic of abdominal obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease represents a monumental clinical and public health challenge. The ICAO represents one important scientific platform to address this issue for the benefit of patients and health professionals.

Some of the key topics to be addressed include:

• Abdominal obesity in Asia;
• Pathophysiology of abdominal obesity and related cardiometabolic risk;
• Abdominal obesity in cardiology/CVD risk;
• Cardiometabolic risk: From basic to translational aspects;
• Assessment of abdominal obesity and global cardiometabolic risk;
• Management of abdominal obesity and global cardiometabolic risk: Physical activity/exercise, nutrition, global management.

We are very happy to welcome you in Seoul for this exciting international scientific event that will tackle these important and growing worldwide health problems.

Sincerely yours,

Jean-Claude Coubard, Congress Chairman of ICCR

Jean-Pierre Després, Congress Chairman of ICCR

Jong Ho Lee, President of KSLA

Chee Jeong Kim, Chief Director of KSLA