Obesity
Obesity, a condition characterized by excessive body fat, is defined by genetic and environmental factors that are difficult to control with dieting.
Adjustable Gastric Banding (Lap band)
In this procedure, the surgeon puts an adjustable band around the top part of the stomach. This creates a very small stomach pouch that will help the patient feel full after eating less food.
Bariatric surgery
Surgery that is performed for the treatment of individuals affected by severe obesity. This type of surgery is also known as obesity surgery. The OAC discourages the use of “weight loss surgery.”
Biliopancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch (BPD/DS – Gastric Bypass)
This is a less common bariatric surgery procedure that entails two major steps:
The first step is a sleeve gastrectomy in which about 80% of the stomach is removed, leaving a smaller tube-shaped stomach that is similar to a banana.
The second step bypasses the majority of the intestine by connecting the end portion of the intestine to the duodenum near the stomach. A BPD/DS limits how much you can eat and reduces the absorption of nutrients, including proteins and fats.
Body mass index (BMI)
BMI is often used in determining levels of obesity.
- BMI 18.5 to 24.9 Healthy
- BMI 25 to 29.9 Overweight
- BMI 30 to 39.9 Obesity
- BMI 40 to 49.9 Severe Obesity
- BMI 50 or higher Super Obesity
Blood glucose
Simple blood sugar that is the body’s main source of energy. A blood test for glucose is used to evaluate blood sugar levels and results may be used to diagnose diabetes, monitor diabetic control or for screening purposes.
Blood pressure
Pressure of the blood on the walls of the blood vessels that is measured in two numbers.
Calcium
Important mineral for the growth, maintenance and reproduction of human cells.
Cholesterol
A waxy substance that circulates in the bloodstream. When the level of cholesterol in the blood is too high, some of the cholesterol is deposited in the walls of the blood vessels.
Obesity-related Conditions
Medical illnesses/diseases that are either caused by or contributed to by severe obesity. These include diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea and arthritis (to name a few).
Congestive heart failure
Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a condition in which the heart’s function as a pump is inadequate to meet the body’s needs.
Coronary heart disease (CHD)
The type of heart disease due to narrowing of the coronary arteries.
Diabetes
High blood sugar from the body’s inability to use glucose efficiently. In type 1, the pancreas does not make enough insulin. In type 2, the body is resistant to effects of available insulin.
Depression
A common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act.
Dietary fiber
Plant food components, including plant cell walls, pectins, gums and brans that cannot be digested.
Digestive system
Mouth
As you chew food, your salivary glands secrete enzymes that help begin the process of digestion.
Esophagus
When you swallow food, muscle action brings the food down your esophagus, or food pipe, and empties through a one-way valve into the stomach.
Stomach
This organ is considered the food ‘reservoir’ – storing food and sending it slowly to the small intestine. In the stomach, protein, fats and carbohydrates are partially digested into smaller portions. As food leaves the stomach through another one-way valve, it empties into the small intestine. Normally, the stomach can hold about three pints of food after a single meal.
Small intestine
Also known as the small bowel, the small intestine is responsible for most digestion and absorption of food – protein, vitamins, minerals and essential fats. The mixture of digestive juices helps break down the food so that it can be absorbed through the walls of the small intestine and into the bloodstream.
Liver
The liver produces bile – an important chemical aiding digestion. Bile drains into the gallbladder where it is stored until needed for digestion.
Gallbladder
The gallbladder is attached underneath the liver; it stores and concentrates bile. When food enters the stomach, it ‘signals’ the gallbladder to squeeze out bile into the duodenum for digestion.
Pancreas
The pancreas is located behind the stomach and produces enzymes essential to digestion. These enzymes are also released into the duodenum when food in the stomach ‘signals’ the start of the digestion process.
Large intestine
Also known as the large bowel, most fluids are absorbed in the large intestine. The leftover waste products from food digestion are concentrated and passed through the rectum as stool.
Fat
With proteins and carbohydrates, fat, also known as lipid, is one of the three types of nutrients used as energy sources by the body. The energy produced by fats is nine calories per gram. Proteins and carbohydrates each provide four calories per gram. Hence, fat is more than twice as caloric as protein and carbohydrate.
Fatty acids
Fatty acids supply energy and promote absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. Some fatty acids are “essential” because they cannot be made by the body.
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass
One type of procedure that can be used to cause significant weight loss. The surgery makes the stomach smaller and part of the stomach and small intestines are literally bypassed (skipped over) so that fewer calories are absorbed.
Gastroplasty
Using staples, the stomach is divided into a small pouch above the staples with the remaining stomach (more than 95 percent) below.
Gout and Hyperuricemia
Gout is condition that results from crystals of uric acid depositing in tissues of the body. Gout is characterized by an overload of uric acid in the body and recurring attacks of joint inflammation (arthritis). Chronic gout can lead to deposits of hard lumps of uric acid in and around the joints, decreased kidney function and kidney stones.
High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol
The so-called good cholesterol. Cholesterol travels in the blood combined with protein in packages called lipoproteins. HDL is thought to carry cholesterol away from other parts of the body back to the liver for removal from the body. A low level of HDL increases the risk for coronary heart disease, whereas a high HDL level is protective.
Hemoglobin
Part of the red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissue.
Hypertriglyceridemia
Elevated levels of triglycerides in the blood.
Hypertension (high blood pressure HBP)
High blood pressure or hypertension means high pressure (tension) in the arteries. The arteries are the vessels that carry blood from the pumping heart to all of the tissues and organs of the body.
Hypotension
Low blood pressure.
Intragastric Balloon Placement
This procedure involves placing a saline-filled silicone balloon in your stomach. The balloon assists with weight loss by limiting how much you can eat and helping you feel fuller faster.
Insulin
Hormone that helps the body use glucose for energy.
Metabolism
The sum total of all the chemical reactions that go on in living cells.
Severe obesity
A magnitude of obesity that qualifies someone for surgical treatment. Weight criteria are approximately 100 pounds or more over ideal body weight, or a BMI of 40 or higher.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a type of arthritis that is caused by the breakdown and eventual loss of the cartilage of one or more joints. Cartilage is a protein substance that serves as a “cushion” between the bones of the joints. Osteoarthritis is also known as degenerative arthritis.
Overweight (Excess weight)
Defined as excess body weight
Protein
Proteins are made of amino acids, which are called the building blocks of the cells. Protein is found in many foods such as meat, fish, poultry and eggs.
Sedentary behavior
A pattern of behavior that is relatively inactive, such as a lifestyle characterized by a lot of sitting.
Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea refers to interruption of breathing during sleep. Apnea is a Greek word that means “want of breath.” The most common form of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea. In obstructive sleep apnea, the muscles of the soft palate around the base of the tongue and the uvula relax, obstructing the airway. The airway obstruction causes the level of oxygen in the blood to fall (hypoxia), increases the stress on the heart, elevates blood pressure, and prevents the patient from entering “REM sleep,” the restful and restorative stage of sleep.
Trans-fatty acids
Alternate forms of naturally occurring unsaturated fatty acids produced in fats as a result of hydrogenation, such as when vegetable oil becomes margarine or shortening. Trans-fatty acids also occur in milk fat, beef fat and lamb fat. These fatty acids have been associated with increased blood cholesterol levels.
Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG)
This surgery involves removing a large portion of the stomach in order to leave behind a smaller stomach.