There is a distinct kind of energy that greets you when you step into Times Square—a dizzying, vibrant sensory overload of towering digital billboards, street music, and a colourful, endless sea of humanity moving to a rhythm unique to New York City. My recent two-day visit to the city began precisely there. Spending my first evening roaming the bustling streets surrounding the New York Marriott Marquis, I couldn’t help but be struck by the sheer vivacity of the local population. Yet, viewing the crowds through the lens of a physician, another striking observation stood out: the rampant prevalence of obesity and the sheer volume of food consumed at every corner. It was a stark visual reminder of the deep-running metabolic challenges facing the Western world. Greeting a table in a decent restaurant in the evening was so difficult. A wait for at least 2 hours was the common answer at the reception. Finally, the jet lagged me entered a pub and settled for fish and chips, which took ages before it was finally served. The portions served typically in USA are really huge. No doubt the United States ranks around 12th globally for adult obesity, with approximately 42.4% of adults affected. While Pacific Island nations (like American Samoa and Nauru) hold the highest rates, the U.S. remains the most obese among large, developed, high-income nations. 

The second day shifted from the noise of the streets to the sharp, intellectual focus of the Complex Coronary Cases (CCC) Symposium, held right inside the........

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