There is now a global epidemic of diabetes and obesity affecting more than 300 million people worldwide with Asia in the forefront. In Hong Kong, diabetes affects more than 10% of the population. Patients with diabetes have a 12—25% lifetime risk of developing a foot ulcer. These silent conditions independently and collectively contribute to 50% of all causes of death mainly due to cardiovascular and renal complications. Type 2 diabetes is a complex disorder characterized by a constellation of cardiovascular risk factors, notably, hyperglycemia, obesity, dyslipidemia (high triglyceride (TG) and low HDL-C), hypertension, microinflammation and prothrombotic state, often referred to as the metabolic syndrome. The public health implication of diabetes lies mainly in its devastating chronic complications due to generalized vascular dysfunction. In patients with diabetes and metabolic syndrome, loss of cellular structure or function due to apoptosis, angiogenesis and fibrosis eventually manifest as overt diabetic complications, such as cardiovascular diseases, neuropathy, retinopathy and nephropathy.