Obesity Glossary of Terms

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Absorption: Uptake. For example, intestinal absorption is the uptake of food (or other sub...

Antidepressants: Anything, and especially a drug, used to prevent or treat depression.

Apnea: The absence of breathing (respiration).

Aspirin: Once the Bayer trademark for acetylsalicylic acid, now the common name for this a...

Back pain: Pain felt in the low or upper back. Causes of pain in the low and upper back in...

Bariatric: Pertaining to the study, prevention, or treatment of overweight.

Bariatric surgery: Surgery on the stomach and/or intestines to help a person with extrem...

Bioinformatics: The sum of the computational approaches to analyze, manage, and store biol...

Biotechnology: The fusion of biology and technology, the application of biological techniq...

Birth control: Birth control is the use of any practices, methods, or devices to prevent p...

Blood pressure: The blood pressure is the pressure of the blood within the arteries. It is...

BMI: Body mass index.

Body mass index: A key index for relating weight to height. Abbreviated BMI. BMI is a pers...

Brain: The portion of the central nervous system that is located within the skull. It func...

Breastfeeding: Feeding a child human breast milk. According to the American Academy of Ped...

Bulimia: Also called bulimia nervosa. An eating disorder characterized by episodes of secr...

Bypass: An operation in which a new pathway is created for the transport of substances in ...

Caffeine: A stimulant compound found naturally in coffee, tea, cocoa (chocolate), and kola...

Calorie: A unit of food energy. The word calorie is ordinarily used instead of the more pr...

Cancer: An abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, ...

Cardiovascular: Relating to the circulatory system, which comprises the heart and blood ve...

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The US agency charged with tracking and invest...

Chronic: In medicine, lasting a long time. A chronic condition is one that lasts 3 months ...

Chronic disease: A disease that persists for a long time. A chronic disease is one lasting...

Cleft lip: A fissure in the upper lip that is due to failure of the left and right sides o...

Colon: The long, coiled, tubelike organ that removes water from digested food. The remaini...

Colon cancer: A malignant tumor arising from the inner wall of the large intestine (the co...

Constipation: Infrequent and frequently incomplete bowel movements. Constipation is the op...

Cough: A rapid expulsion of air from the lungs, typically in order to clear the lung airwa...

Cushing syndrome: The constellation of symptoms and signs caused by an excess of cortisol ...

Dementia: Significant loss of intellectual abilities, such as memory capacity, that is sev...

Depression: An illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and that affects the way...

Diabetes: Refers to diabetes mellitus or, less often, to diabetes insipidus. Diabetes mell...

Diabetes mellitus: Better known just as "diabetes" -- a chronic disease associated with ab...

Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness. 2 A ...

Diarrhea: A common condition that involves unusually frequent and liquid bowel movements. ...

Digestive system: The system of organs responsible for getting food into and out of the bo...

Dizziness: Painless head discomfort with many possible causes including disturbances of ...

Dry mouth: The condition of not having enough saliva to keep the mouth wet. This is due to...

Endocrinology: The study of the medical aspects of hormones, including diseases and condit...

Endometrial cancer: Cancer of the womb (the uterus ). Endometrial cancer occurs most often...

Ephedra: A medicinal herb, known scientifically as Ephedra sinica and Ephedra equisetina, ...

Epidemic: The occurrence of more cases of a disease than would be expected in a community...

FDA: Food and Drug Administration.

Gallstones: Stones that form when substances in the bile harden. Gallstones can be as smal...

Gastric: Having to do with the stomach.

Genes: The basic biological units of heredity. Segments of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) nee...

Gout: Condition characterized by abnormally elevated levels of uric acid in the blood, rec...

HDL: High density lipoprotein.

Headache: A pain in the head with the pain being above the eyes or the ears, behind the he...

Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. ...

Heart attack: The death of heart muscle due to the loss of blood supply. The loss of bloo...

Heart disease: Any disorder that affects the heart. Sometimes the term "heart disease" is ...

Heart rate: The number of heartbeats per unit of time, usually per minute. The heart rate ...

Hemorrhagic: Pertaining to bleeding or the abnormal flow of blood.

Herbal: 1. An adjective, referring to herbs, as in an herbal tea.
2. A...

High blood pressure: A repeatedly elevated blood pressure exceeding 140 over 90 mmHg. Chro...

Hypertension: High blood pressure, defined as a repeatedly elevated blood pressure exceedi...

Incontinence: The inability to control excretions, to hold urine in the bladder, or to kee...

Informatics: The application of computers and statistics to the management of information....

Insomnia: The perception or complaint of inadequate or poor-quality sleep due to a number ...

Internal medicine: The medical specialty dedicated to the diagnosis and medical treatment ...

Intestine: The long, tubelike organ in the abdomen that completes the process of digestion...

Jenny Craig: Jenny Craig is a diet program that originated in Australia in 1983 in Austral...

Knee: The knee is a joint which has three parts. The thigh bone (the femur) meets the lar...

Liposuction: The surgical suctioning of fat deposits from specific parts of the body, the ...

Lungs: The lungs are a pair of breathing organs located with the chest which remove carbon...

Marker: A piece of DNA that lies on a chromosome so close to a gene that the marker and t...

Metabolism: The whole range of biochemical processes that occur within a living organism. ...

Mouth: 1. The upper opening of the digestive tract, beginning with the lips and con...

Muscle: Muscle is the tissue of the body which primarily functions as a source of power. T...

Nausea: Stomach queasiness, the urge to vomit. Nausea can be brought on by many causes, in...

Nutrition: 1) The science or practice of taking in and utilizing foods. 2) A nourishing ...

Obese: Well above ones normal weight. A person has traditionally been considered to be obe...

Obesity: The state of being well above one's normal weight.

Osteoarthritis: A type of arthritis caused by inflammation, breakdown, and eventual loss ...

Ovarian: Of or pertaining to the ovary.

Overweight: The term "overweight" is used in two different ways. In one sense it is a way ...

Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pa...

Palate: The roof of the mouth. The front portion is bony (hard palate), and the back porti...

Pharmacy: A location where prescription medications are sold. A pharmacy is constantly sup...

Polycystic ovarian syndrome: Abbreviated PCOS. Polycystic ovarian syndrome is a condition ...

Pound: A measure of weight that is equal to 16 ounces or, metrically, 453.6 grams. Abbrevi...

Prader-Willi syndrome: A syndrome characterized by severe hypotonia (floppiness), poor suc...

Pregnancy: The state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the female body. Thi...

Prescription: A physician's order for the preparation and administration of a drug or dev...

Primary care: A patient's main source for regular medical care, ideally providing continui...

Prognosis: The forecast of the probable outcome or course of a disease; the patient's chan...

Pulmonary: Having to do with the lungs.

Pulmonary hypertension: High blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries. This elevated blood...

Receptor: 1. In cell biology, a structure on the surface of a cell (or inside a cel...

Risk factor: Something that increases a person's chances of developing a disease. For exam...

Serotonin: A neurotransmitter that is involved in the transmission of nerve impulses. Sero...

Sleep: The body's rest cycle.

Sleep apnea: The temporary stoppage of breathing during sleep, often resulting in daytime ...

Stomach: The digestive organ that is located in the upper abdomen, under the ribs. The upp...

Stool: The solid matter that is discharged in a bowel movement.

Stroke: The sudden death of brain cells due to lack of oxygen, caused by blockage of blood...

Substance: 1. Material with particular features.
2. The material that...

Surgery: The branch of medicine that employs operations in the treatment of disease or inj...

Syndrome: A combination of symptoms and signs that together represent a disease process.

Taste: A perception that results from stimulation of a gustatory nerve. Taste belongs to t...

Therapy: The treatment of disease. Therapy is synonymous with treatment.

Tobacco: A South American herb (Nicotiana tabacum) whose leaves contain 2 to 8 percent nic...

Tooth: One of the structures within the mouth that allow for biting and chewing. Teeth hav...

Weight loss: Weight loss is a decrease in body weight resulting from either voluntary (die...

Weight Watchers: Weight Watchers is a diet plan first developed in the 1960s that encourag...