Increasing prevalence of obesity and clustered cardiometabolic risk: can treatment of the underlying cause reverse the trends?

Changing demographics in the United States indicate that obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes are increasing in prevalence. Current interventions for the treatment of the metabolic syndrome to prevent cardiovascular disease are usually directed at individual risk factors instead of the root cause, which is commonly visceral adiposity. Existing pharmacologic therapies to treat obesity provide modest benefit on weight loss but are limited by their tolerability and by concerns about safety. More effective management of patients with metabolic syndrome to prevent diabetes and cardiovascular disease will require more effective therapies that target the underlying cause.