Flexibility - the range of movement in any one joint or group
of joints. This can be heightened with stretching and yoga. Comorbidity - a potentially deadly side-effect caused by a disease process. In the context of morbid obesity (more than twice the ideal body weight), excess accumulation of body fat could cause concurrent medical complications, like diabetes and/or cardiac arrest.
Spot Reduction - removal of built-up fat (to achieve muscular definition) from specific areas of the body. Spot reduction through exercise or workouts is a myth, because working a muscle does not get rid of the fat surrounding it.
Chromosome - thread like components contained in the nucleus of the cell, which contain DNA and proteins. Chromosomes carry genes.
Plants synthesize and store carbohydrates as their primary energy source. The glucose created in the foliage is utilized as the basis to produce more complex types of carbohydrates. The grouping of carbohydrates relates to the essential structural component of their living cells: saccharides. The primary monosaccharides (simple carbohydrates) that are found in food are glucose (also called dextrose) and fructose. Three standard disaccharides (sugars composed of two monosaccharides) are sucrose (from sugar cane and sugar beets), lactose (usually found in dairy products), and maltose (malt sugar found in some grains). Polysaccharides of interest in nutrition include starch (found in plant seeds, fruits, tubers, and roots), dextrin (formed by enzyme action on starch), glycogen (glucose that is converted for storage), and cellulose (part of the cell walls of all plant cells).
Type 1 Diabetes - earlier referred to as `IDDM (insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus)` or `juvenile diabetes`. Type I diabetes is a chronic medical condition that a patient has to endure throughout life and where the pancreas quits making insulin. In the absence of this enzyme, the body cannot use glucose (blood sugar) to produce energy. For treatment of this medical problem, a diabetic individual is required to take insulin injections, follow a planned diet, exercise daily, and test blood glucose regularly all through the day. Type 1 diabetes normally develops before 30 years of age.
Polydipsia - an excessive or abnormal thirst that is relatively prolonged; a symptom of diabetes.
Repetition - a term employed most frequently in resistance exercises or weight-lifting. A single movement, such as doing a single squat (going down and then going back up) would count as one repetition. A defined number of repetitions equal a set.
Body Fat - the part of an individual`s body mass that is not composed of lean muscle, water, bones, or vital organs.
Fats (Dietary Fats) - fats as a food group are referred to in the plural because no food contains just one type of fat. Fats contain the identical 3 chemical elements as carbohydrates: hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen. Composition-wise, however, fats relatively have more molecules of carbon and hydrogen and a lower proportion of oxygen, which means they supply a larger caloric value of 9 calories for each gram (as against 4 calories for each gram from carbohydrates and protein). Obesity - excessively excessive amount of body fat and body weight that is way above what is deemed conducive to good health: 20% more than normal. An individual`s body weight is determined by numerous factors: genetic, metabolic, behavioral, environmental, cultural, and social and economic influences. Explorations into what causes obesity show that energy intake, irrespective of which food group they come from, is a core determinant of body weight. For example, as the percentage of calories coming from fats has declined in the American diet, there is no proof that body weight is also on the decline. However, research findings indicate that a considerable cutback in the percentage of fat in the total caloric count will cause a minor decrease in body weight in the case of people who have normal body weight or are moderately obese. A few scientists suggest that the distribution and amount of a person`s body fat is an essential determinant of health risk and, therefore, must be factored into the definition of overweight and obesity. Abdominal fat (that is, fat centrally distributed between the thorax and pelvis) has been connected to a higher health risk than fat in the thighs or hips. Thus, some health professionals prefer measuring the waist-to-hip ratio in order to help determine whether a person weighs more than normal.
Abductors - muscles of the inner side of the thigh, which pull the legs together. Abductors connect the pelvis and the femur (or thigh bone). This muscle group is used during in-line skating (roller skating on inline skates), skiing or doing frog stroke when swimming.
Fructose - sometimes known as `levulose`, a carbohydrate in the form of a single sugar present naturally in many fruits and honey, as an added sugar as a crystallized sugar, and in the form of a constituent of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). As with sucrose, fructose generates 4 calories for each gram. Fructose is one of the components of sucrose, and is frequently referred to as fruit sugar because of its presence in fruits. Fructose is also is used as a supplementary sweetener in foods and beverages in the form of crystalline fructose (made from corn starch) or from high fructose corn syrup (usually a combination of 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose). Biomechanics - applies mechanical principles to the study of how the human body moves.
Hydrogenation - the process in which hydrogen is added to an unsaturated vegetable oil to create a trans fat (for example, shortening). Hydrogenation imparts appealing textural properties to food products. The level of hydrogenation affects the firmness and spreadability of margarines, flakiness of pie crust and the smooth, rich texture of puddings. Hydrogenated oils are sometimes used instead of other fats that have larger proportions of fats from animal sources, like butter or lard. Consuming a great deal of trans fatty acids may increase the health risk of developing a heart disease.
Nitrosamines - a digestive byproduct of nitrite, which is a food additive used in preserving meats, fish, and poultry. (Also refer to `Nitrite`.)
Cardiovascular - referring to the circulatory system: heart and blood vessels (arteries, veins, and capillaries).
Obesity Surgery Center - a medical institution specializing in obesity-related surgery and follow-up care.
Obese - describes a person with excessive body weight due to an abnormally high, unhealthy amount of body fat. There are numerous mechanisms to recognize whether an individual is obese, although healthcare professionals believe that a person`s body mass index (BMI) is the most accurate measurement of the amount of fat in the body for adults as well as for children. Obese is generally indicated as having a Body Mass Index above 30. There may be exceptions. For instance, an athlete could show a higher BMI but not be overweight.
Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) - phenolic chemical compound utilized to preserve and prolong the shelf-life of foods by preventing rancidity. It could also be utilized as a defoaming agent for yeast. BHA is present in foods which have a high fat or oil content, and also in beer, packaged snack foods, baked goods, and also in cereals and meat products.
Fertilizer - organic or inorganic substances, either occurring in natural form or artificial, including manure and nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium compounds that are spread over or worked into the soil to increase its fertility. If used inappropriately or over-used, or attached to eroding soil, fertilizers may become a source of storm water pollution. Simple Carbohydrates - single-molecule sugars such as fructose, galactose, and glucose. They are known as `simple` sugars because their chemical makeup has just 1 or 2 sugar molecules, as against complex carbohydrates, which contain many.
Nitrogen - a non-metallic chemical element that makes up almost 80 percent of the air by volume, being a colorless, odorless, almost non-reactive diatomic gas present in various naturally-occurring inorganic compounds (minerals) and in each and every protein. It is utilized in an extensive array of major industrial products, which include ammonia, nitric acid, TNT, and fertilizers.
High Blood Pressure - an alternative term for hypertension. There is a rise and fall in blood pressure all through the day. An optimal blood pressure is below 120/80 mmHg. When blood pressure remains high, greater than or equal to 140/90 mmHg, it is considered high blood pressure. Hypertension increases the risk factor for strokes or heart problems.