This article provides a global overview of the current trends and distribution of metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome (also known as the cardiometabolic syndrome) refers to a cluster of related risk factors for cardiovascular disease that includes abdominal obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and elevated cholesterol. Data from the World Health Organization suggests 65% of the world's population live in countries where being overweight or obese kills more people than being underweight. The WHO defines “overweight” as a BMI greater than or equal to 25, and “obesity” as a BMI greater than or equal to 30. Both overweight and obesity are major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, specifically heart disease and stroke, and diabetes.The International Diabetes Federation reports that as of 2011, 366 million people suffer from diabetes; this number is projected to increase to over half a billion (estimated 552 million) by 2030.