Despite rapidly increasing rates of type 2 diabetes and the fact that heart disease remains the leading cause of death, the majority of Canadians are still unaware of many of the risk factors that put them at increased risk of developing these diseases.

According to the Canadian results of the second annual Shape of the Nations survey, a global survey involving over 11,000 people and conducted in 27 countries, fewer than 20 per cent of the general population in Canada are familiar with the new term “cardiometabolic risk”, despite emerging evidence that a cluster of risk factors associated with this term puts them at risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

• Dr. Jean-Pierre Despres, PhD, FAHA, Director of Research at the Québec Heart Institute and Director of the first International Chair on Cardiometabolic Risk based at Université Laval