The International Chair on Cardiometabolic Risk is an independent, academic, multidisciplinary organization affiliated with Université Laval and located at Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec in Québec City, Canada. It is composed of two councils: an Executive Council and a Scientific Council.

The members of both councils have been chosen based on their expertise, their remarkable scientific contributions and their status as world leaders in their discipline. The makeup of both councils exemplifies the multidisciplinary nature of the Chair, with all members active in complementary areas of expertise. The Chair provides a forum for them to share their knowledge and expertise regarding diverse pathophysiological conditions eventually leading to cardiovascular disease.

A key aspect of the Chair is its international and multidisciplinary character, with the following disciplines represented: cardiology, diabetology, lipidology, endocrinology and metabolism, obesity, nutrition, physical activity and basic research.

The Chair organizes and participates in an array of activities at international medical congresses while reaching out to both scientific and lay communities. The Chair’s website, which was launched in the fall 2007, is a key component of its mission. The website is the most comprehensive, up-to-date and easy-to-use source of information on abdominal obesity and cardiometabolic risk. Intended for both health professionals and the general public, it uses state-of-the-art technology to help visitors better understand the risk factors and markers that must be addressed and the lifestyle changes that must be made in order to prevent abdominal obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The Chair’s website is highly interactive and features free slides, webcasts, and videos in which world-renowned experts discuss themes relevant to abdominal obesity and cardiometabolic risk. The Chair also publishes the CMReJournal, which is available through its website. The e-journal complements the Chair’s website and provides up-to-date information on abdominal obesity and related cardiometabolic risk for a range of audiences. Also available on the website is a downloadable iPad application which allows physicians and health professionals to access their patients’ cardiometabolic risk through a comprehensive set of algorithms. Moreover, algorithms are included to access level of physical activity and nutritional quality, two key correlates of cardiometabolic health.

By providing a platform for integrated research, developing physician and patient education programs and working to create new prevention and treatment strategies, the Chair is committed to stopping and reversing the abdominal obesity pandemic for the benefit of patients and society alike.

Our website can be found at: www.myhealthywaist.org