Word | Definition |
adaptive thermogenesis | adjustments in energy expenditure related to changes in environment such as extreme cold and to physiological events such as overfeeding, trauma, and changes in hormone status. |
appetite | the integrated response to the sight, smell, thought, or taste of food that initiates or delays eating. |
basal metabolic rate | the rate of energy use for metabolism under specified conditions: It is usually expressed as kcalories per kilogram body weight per hour. |
basal metabolism | the energy needed to maintain life when a body is at complete digestive, physical, and emotional rest. |
body composition | the proportions of muscle, bone, fat, and other tissue that make up a person’s total body weight. |
body mass index | an index of a person’s weight in relation to height; determined by dividing the weight (in kilograms) by the square of the height (in meters). |
bomb calorimeter | an instrument that measures the heat energy released when foods are burned, thus providing an estimate of the potential energy of the foods. |
central obesity | excess fat around the trunk of the body; also called abdominal fat or upper-body fat. |
diet-induced thermogenesis | the sum of the TEF and any increase in the metabolic rate due to overeating. |
hunger | the painful sensation caused by a lack of food that initiates food-seeking behavior. |
hypothalamus | a brain center that controls activities such as maintenance of water balance, regulation of body temperature, and control of appetite. |
inflammation | an immunological response to cellular injury characterized by an increase in white blood cells. |
insulin resistance | the condition in which a normal amount of insulin produces a subnormal effect in muscle, adipose, and liver cells, resulting in an elevated fasting glucose; a metabolic consequence of obesity that precedes type 2 diabetes. |
intra-abdominal fat | fat stored within the abdominal cavity in association with the internal abdominal organs, as opposed to the fat stored directly under the skin (subcutaneous fat). |
lean body mass | the body minus its fat content. |
neuropeptide Y | a chemical produced in the brain that stimulates appetite, diminishes energy expenditure, and increases fat storage. |
obese | overweight with adverse health effects; BMI 30 or higher. |
overweight | body weight above some standard of acceptable weight that is usually defined in relation to height (such as BMI); BMI 25 to 29.9. |
resting metabolic rate | similar to the basal metabolic rate (BMR), a measure of the energy use of a person at rest in a comfortable setting, but with less stringent criteria for recent food intake and physical activity. |
satiating | having the power to suppress hunger and inhibit eating. |
satiation | the feeling of satisfaction and fullness that occurs during a meal and halts eating. |
satiety | the feeling of fullness and satisfaction that occurs after a meal and inhibits eating until the next meal. |
thermic effect of food | an estimation of the energy required to process food (digest, absorb, transport, metabolize, and store ingested nutrients); also called the specific dynamic effect (SDE) of food or the specific dynamic activity (SDA) of food. |
thermogenesis | the generation of heat; used in physiology and nutrition studies as an index of how much energy the body is expending. |
underweight | body weight below some standard of acceptable weight that is usually defined in relation to height (such as BMI); BMI below 18.5. |
waist circumference | an anthropometric measurement used to assess a person’s abdominal fat. |