Monoglyceride:
a product of the metabolism of triglycerides (fats).
Morbidity: the rate of illness; the ratio of sick to well in a population.
Mortality: the death rate, usually expressed as the number of deaths per 100,000.
Mutagenic:
causing a permanent change in the hereditary material (genes) of the cell; these changes may but do necessarily result in cancer.
NIDDM:
non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, also called Type II diabetes mellitus, or adult-onset diabetes.
Nucleus:
control centre of the cell houses the cell’s DNA.
Obesity:
the chronic disease characterised by an excess of body fat.
Organelle:
specialised subcellular unit within the cytoplasm of the cell that performs many important functions.
Osteoarthritis:
a disease characterised by degeneration of the cartilage that lines the joints or by the formation of bony spurs and outgrowths; in obese people, often caused by the excess weight placed on their joints.
Overweight:
excessive total body weight in relation to height.
Pear shape:
people whose fat tends to be located in their hips and buttocks are described as “pear”-shaped.
Pharmacokinetics:
pertaining to the movement of a drug within the body, particularly the rate at which absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination occur.
Phospholipid: a particular type of fat that contains fatty acids and phosphorus; it is a natural substance that is an important part of biological membranes.
Physiology:
the science that is concerned with the normal vital processes, especially as to how things normally function in the living organism.
Postprandial: after a meal.
Prevalence:
a measure of how common a disease is in a defined population as expressed in the total number of cases of a disease at any one time (see: incidence)
Protoplasm:
the basic material of living cells; consists of water, electrolytes (such as sodium and potassium), proteins, lipids and carbohydrates.
Psychogenic:
produced, or caused by, psychic or mental factors rather than organic.
Psychopathology:
the branch of medicine that deals with the causes and nature of mental disease.
Psychosocial:
pertaining to, or involving, both psychic and societal functions.
Recovery period: the period after exercise during which metabolism, and therefore energy expenditure, will remain increased.
Relative risk (relative risk ratio):
the risk of dying, or developing a disease (such as diabetes), over a period of time in a defined population (such as obese people) compared with the risk of dying or developing the same disease in a comparable population that does not possess the same risk (such as normal-weight people).
Respiratory quotient (RQ) level:
the ratio of oxygen used versus carbon dioxide formed in the course of metabolism.
Risk factors:
conditions that lead to diseases or comorbidities. Obesity-associated risk factors include hypertension, impaired glucose tolerance and hypercholesterolemia.
Secretin:
a hormone produced by the duodenum in response to food and juices from the stomach; it causes the secretion of juices by the pancreas.
Serotonin:
an important brain chemical (neurotransmitter) with diverse effects (mood, sexual behaviour, and many other brain-related functions).
Serotonin-reuptake inhibitor:
a drug that increases the effect of serotonin in the brain by preventing serotonin from being taken up and stored after its release. Subcutaneous: beneath the skin.
Somatogenic:
produced or caused by the body.
Skinfold thickness measurements:
assess the thickness of skin and subcutaneous fat at targeted sites of a person’s body such as the triceps.
Subcutaneous fat: fat stored under the skin.
Symbiosis:
intimate association between two organisms in which there is mutual benefit.
Systolic blood pressure:
a high value showing blood pressure at the maximum heart contraction.
Tomography:
a diagnostic technique imaging anatomical information through the use of X-ray photographs in which the shadows of structures before and behind the section under scrutiny do not show.
Triglyceride: fat; it is made up of glycerol and three fatty acids.
Viscera: internal organs.
Visceral: pertaining to the internal organs.
Visceral adipose tissue: fat stored around the viscera.
Waist-to-hip ratio: a measure of obesity, calculated by dividing the waist circumference by the hip circumference.
Weight-for-height tables: a variety of tables used to compare a person’s weight and height with “normal” standards.
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