Adipose: Fat tissue.

Adjustable Gastric Band: A silicone band that is placed usually laparoscopically around the upper part of the stomach creating a small stomach pouch. The band has a tube attached with a port at the end that can be placed under the skin. Here fluid can be injected ‘a fill’ or removed either making the band tighter or looser known as band adjustments. This affects the speed in which the stomach pouch empties and the satiety of the patient after eating.

Adhesion: Scar tissue that causes two body parts or organs of the body to stick together usually caused by previous surgery.

Apple shaped: Having extra fat stored around the waist of the body and not the hip or legs. This is an indication of fat stored deep in the body within the internal organs (visceral fat) and is an indicator of increased cardiovascular risk.

Asthma: is a chronic medical condition. It is a common chronic disorder of the airways that is complex and characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, airflow obstruction, bronchial hyperresponsiveness (bronchospasm), and an underlying inflammation. Obesity can also lead to narrowing of the airways making breathing difficult and so limiting physical activity.

Atherosclerosis: An accumulation of fatty deposits on the inside of the arteries that narrows the vessels and slows down blood flow.

Bariatric: The field of medicine concerned with weight loss.

Bariatric surgery: Weight loss surgery to the stomach and or intestines that either restricts the amount a person can eat at any one time or both restricts and alters the normal digestive process by connecting the stomach directly to the lower part of the intestines so that not all food that is eaten and can be absorbed.

BMI Body Mass Index: A comparison of body weight to height that is used to calculate excess weight. It is how we define what weight range we are in from underweight to morbidly obese. It is calculated by dividing your weight in kilograms by the square of your height in metres. Broadly speaking a healthy weight range is between 18.5 and 25 however BMI does not take muscle mass into consideration and therefore is not a reliable measure for body builders.

Cancer :The risk of developing cancer is increased in people that are overweight and obese. Being overweight increases the risk of  cancer to the large intestine and rectum and women are at a higher risk of developing cancer of the breast, ovary, uterus and cervix.

Co-morbidity: The co-existence of two or more disease processes. Co-morbidities in the obese person include high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and sleep apnoea; joint pains caused by excess weight are just a few. These are health problems that are secondary to excess weight and can be significantly reduced or even cured through a reduction in weight.

Diabetes Type 2: A condition characterised by high blood glucose levels caused by either a lack of insulin or the body's inability to use insulin efficiently. Type 2 diabetes develops most often in middle-aged and older adults but can appear in young people and especially in patients who are obese and is the most common form of diabetes.

Dumping syndrome: A group of symptoms that occur when a person has a high sugar/ carbohydrate load following gastric bypass surgery. These sugars are usually absorbed in the duodenum, which is now bypassed. The sugars enter the jejunum or the ileum that are not used to absorbing simple sugars. When the body senses the sugar level rising, it dumps insulin to handle the load. This dramatically lowers available blood sugar. Symptoms include cramps, nausea, palpitations, diarrhoea, dizziness and a sense of impending doom.

Duodenal Switch (DS) a form of bariatric surgery that has a significant malabsorptive component that helps patients maintain weight loss over the long term. After surgery patients must be monitored closely to prevent severe nutritional deficiencies.

Gall Stones: Too much cholesterol in the gall bladder. Caused by the liver excreting too much cholesterol or the bile being out of balance and not dissolving the cholesterol that is excreted. The sticky particles of cholesterol adhere to one another eventually forming larger gallstones.

Gastric Balloon: A small air filled balloon is placed in the stomach through the mouth and oesophagus. It is inflated after placement. The balloon takes up room in the stomach and restricts the amount that can be eaten.

Gastric Bypass Roux-en-Y: The most commonly performed malabsorptive surgery. Special staples are used to section off a tiny portion of the stomach to the size of about a golf ball or slightly less. A small Y shaped section of the small intestine is attached to the pouch to allow food to bypass the lower stomach as well as the first and second segments of the small intestine.

High Blood Pressure: otherwise known as hypertension, it is a medical condition in which the pressure of the blood in the arteries is too high. No specific cause is found in 95% of cases. It is treated with exercise, losing weight, limiting salt and medication.

Infertility: Women with a body mass index of more than 29 are likely to take longer to conceive this is because If you are significantly overweight, the oversupply of estrogen will affect how the ovary's function. This causes disruption to the natural ovulation cycle and often leads to infertility.

Jejunum: the second part of the small intestine extending from the duodenum to the ileus.

Laparoscopy: commonly known as keyhole surgery as it is done without an open incision. Small incisions are made that allow surgical instruments and a slender illuminated optical or fiber optic camera into the body cavity. This surgery is preferred as it causes fewer risks to the patient in terms of infection, scarring and pain post operatively.

Malabsorption: The body is unable to absorb all the calories it ingests due to bypassing part of the small intestine as in roux en Y  gastric bypass surgery. This results in significant weight loss but patients must be monitored for nutritional deficiencies post operatively.

Medical Weight Management: A term given to weight management programmes that do not involve bariatric surgery. Effective medical weight management programmes should look into the lifestyle, diet, exercise, physiological and psychological issues surrounding a patient and they may also involve the use of weight loss drugs.

Morbid Obesity: Defined as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) that is greater than 40. Alternatively defined as men who are at least 100 pounds overweight and by women who are at least 80 pounds overweight.

NICE guidelines: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is the independent organisation responsible for providing national guidance on the promotion of good health and the prevention and treatment of ill health. The guidance is written by independent experts including staff from the NHS, local authorities and other organisations and people representing patients and carers.

Obesity: Having a BMI over 30 is the precise measure. Obesity is usually caused by a variety of factors including a sedentary lifestyle, over eating, over production of hunger hormones, genetics, high fat diet, and yo yo dieting.

Sleep Apnoea: Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a respiratory disorder closely associated with morbid obesity, in which breathing is made more difficult by excessive body fat around the neck or on the chest. This excess body fat constricts the air-passageways and sometimes the lungs, causing short interruptions in breathing during the night. Patients with sleep apnoea may experience sudden daytime sleepiness, difficulty concentrating, and on rare occasions heart failure. The health consequences of sleep apnoea can be life-threatening, especially among patients suffering from morbid or malignant obesity.

Skin Reduction Surgery: Some people may need to go on to require further surgery after bariatric surgery to remove excess skin – sometimes called body contouring (a form of cosmetic surgery) or skin reduction surgery. This is because losing weight results in fat loss but not loss of the skin itself.

Surgery Abroad: Having surgery abroad may seem like a cost effective alternative to surgery in the UK but you could be putting your health at serious risk and there are often additional hidden costs that you only find out about after the surgery. If you are thinking of having surgery abroad ensure that you are aware of exactly what your package includes such as flight, accommodation and return visits.

Weight Loss Surgery: surgery to the stomach and or intestines that either restricts the amount a person can eat at any one time or both restricts and alters the normal digestive process by connecting the stomach directly to the lower part of the intestines so that not all food that is eaten and be absorbed.

If you would like further information on any of the above topics or would like to book a FREE consultation with a specialist nurse or dietician then call Vita Clinics on 0800 849 4050