Sex Differences in Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease

Featured Topic — Sunday, April 23, 2024 — 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM — , Room W196B
Cardiovascular Section — Chair: Eric J. Belin de Chantemele — Co-Chair: Analia S Loria

Obesity is worldwide epidemic that severely affects women. The prevalence of obesity is not only higher in women than men, but women also suffer from more severe forms of obesity. Notably, according to recent statistics, the prevalence for obesity class II and class III is two times higher in women compared to men. Obesity, which is a major risk factor for metabolic and cardiovascular diseases including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, stroke and coronary artery diseases, has recently been identified as the cause of the three-fold increase in the risk for cardiovascular disease (hypertension, stroke) in premenopausal women, and of the rising number of schoolgirls diagnosed with hypertension observed over the last two decades. Recent studies suggest that environmental factors such as stress and diet since early life might greatly contribute to the high prevalence of obesity in women. Despite these alarming statistics, most studies analyzing the origin and the metabolic and cardiovascular consequences of obesity remain conducted in men and male animals. The physiology of the metabolic and cardiovascular diseases still remains poorly studied, in females.   The goal of the present symposium is to sensitize the scientific community to the problem of obesity in premenopausal women and to discuss its potential origins and its metabolic and cardiovascular consequences. Dr. Sandra T Davidge (Director, Women & Children Research Institute, University of Alberta, Canada), expert in the field of fetal origins of adult cardiovascular diseases and pioneer in the study of the women cardiometabolic physiology agreed to be the featured speaker for this featured topic. The goal of this symposium is to target a broad audience. The topic proposed is at the interface between the fields of programming, endocrinology, metabolism, and cardiovascular physiology and should be of great interest for both basic and clinician scientists. The goal is to select abstracts that will cover the programming, endocrine, metabolic and cardiovascular aspects of the disease.

Speakers

• Sexual Dimorphism of Angiotensin II-Induced Vascular Disease
  Lisa A. Cassis — Grad Ctr for Nutritional Science, Univ. of Kentucky