Winners of media prize announced

 

The jury was made-up of the following three professors: Pr. Jean-Pierre Bassand, Cardiologist (France), Pr. John Betteridge, Endocrinologist (UK) and Pr. Eberhard Standl, European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation (Germany). Following careful evaluation and discussion around all submissions made, they unanimously chose the following three articles:

 

·         A comprehensive website open to the general public and developed by Dr. Boris Hansel (France) at www.syndromedelabedaine.org on abdominal obesity and the metabolic syndrome. This website contains key messages on how to reduce global  cardiometabolic risk through appropriate and reasonable changes in lifestyle.

·         An article entitled “Public Health: obesity crisis” written by Charlotte Rigby (United-Kingdom) and published in Pharmacy Magazine. This article was chosen for its outstanding description of how expanding waistlines are a sign of disease and a major public health issue.

·         An article entitled “Síndrome metabólico, ¡lo puedes superar!” (Metabolic Syndrome, you can beat it!) by Debora Taddei (Spain) and published in Dietética y Salud. This article was chosen for its clear association of cardiometabolic risk/metabolic syndrome with elevated waist circumference and upbeat tone, to allow concerned consumers to become confident in their ability to tackle their problem.

 

All three journalists have been invited to the ESC 2008 meeting in Munich Germany where they will first learn their specific ranking and corresponding cash reward, as well as receive their prize certificate during a diner organized with the members of the jury and two ICCR Executive Board representatives.

 

Professor Jean-Pierre Després, Scientific Director of the ICCR was pleased by the level of participation in this prize with 35 submissions from 5 different countries. He hopes that, although the prize period has come to an end, more reporters from around the world will continue to write on this subject, emphasizing the important role played by abdominal obesity in increasing a patient’s global risk of cardiovascular disease. Reporters who request interviews with Professor Després have heard him time and again remind them that “Abdominal obesity plays an even more important role than weight or BMI in determining a patient’s level of risk of suffering prematurely from a heart attack or a stroke and all it takes is just a simple tape measure to assess this level of risk”.

 

The media prize initiative is one of several major activities which the ICCR has undertaken in the past year to reverse the unacceptable global rise in morbi-mortality rates of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. Others include ICCR presentations at major medical meetings, their website and newsletter.

Based at Université Laval, Québec, Canada, the International Chair on Cardiometabolic Risk is made up of 22 world-renowned international scientists. Their goal is to develop awareness and knowledge around cardiometabolic risk factors in order to improve international patient management. Each year, this group organizes a series of conferences and debates. The Chair also intends to provide physicians and patients with various educational materials, many of which are available on their website:www.cardiometabolic-risk.org