ABOM Oral Medicine key terms

A screening measure calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared, used to classify weight status in adults and, with percentile charts, in children and adolescents.

A BMI category from 30.0 to 34.9 kg/m² in adults, representing the lowest of the three obesity classes and carrying elevated cardiometabolic risk relative to overweight.

A BMI category from 35.0 to 39.9 kg/m² in adults, associated with substantially greater risk of type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, and cardiovascular disease than class I.

A BMI of 40 kg/m² or greater in adults, sometimes called severe obesity, and the category with the highest risk of obesity-related complications and mortality.

A BMI of 25.0 to 29.9 kg/m² in adults, indicating excess weight above the healthy range but below the obesity threshold.

A measure of abdominal girth taken at a defined landmark, used to identify central adiposity that raises cardiometabolic risk even when BMI falls in the overweight range.

Fat stored within the abdominal cavity around internal organs; it is metabolically active, secretes inflammatory adipokines, and is more strongly linked to insulin resistance than subcutaneous fat.

A fat-storing cell that also functions as an endocrine cell, releasing hormones and cytokines such as leptin and adiponectin that influence appetite, inflammation, and glucose metabolism.

An adipocyte-derived hormone that signals energy sufficiency to the hypothalamus and normally suppresses appetite; circulating levels rise with fat mass and fall with weight loss.

A protein secreted by adipose tissue that enhances insulin sensitivity and has anti-inflammatory effects; its circulating levels tend to fall in obesity and rise with weight loss.

The central neural control of food intake and energy expenditure, integrating hormonal signals such as leptin and ghrelin with nutrient and neural inputs to adjust appetite and metabolism.

A stomach-derived hormone that rises before meals and stimulates appetite and food intake; it is often called the hunger hormone and falls after eating.

The relationship between calories consumed and calories expended; a sustained positive balance promotes weight gain, though biological adaptation complicates simple predictions.

The energy expended at rest to maintain vital functions, accounting for the majority of daily energy use in most adults and influenced by body composition, age, and sex.

The sum of resting metabolic rate, thermic effect of food, and physical activity energy expenditure, representing all calories burned in a day.

The energy cost of digesting, absorbing, and metabolizing nutrients, typically a modest fraction of total daily energy expenditure that varies by macronutrient composition.

A cluster of findings including central obesity, elevated blood pressure, dyslipidemia, and impaired glucose regulation that together markedly increase risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Reduced responsiveness of tissues such as muscle and liver to insulin, leading to compensatory hyperinsulinemia and, when beta-cell function fails, to type 2 diabetes.

A disorder in which repeated upper airway collapse during sleep causes intermittent hypoxemia and arousals, strongly associated with obesity and improved by weight loss.

Accumulation of fat in the liver in the absence of significant alcohol use, ranging from simple steatosis to steatohepatitis and fibrosis, and strongly associated with obesity and insulin resistance.

Degenerative joint disease characterized by cartilage loss and pain, whose risk and severity are increased by excess body weight through mechanical loading and inflammatory effects of adipose tissue.

A common endocrine disorder of hyperandrogenism and ovulatory dysfunction often accompanied by insulin resistance and weight gain, with weight loss improving both metabolic and reproductive features.

A theoretical body-weight range that physiological systems defend through changes in appetite and energy expenditure, helping explain weight regain after loss.

A reduction in energy expenditure beyond what is predicted from loss of body mass, occurring during caloric restriction and contributing to plateau and weight regain.

Sustained reduction of body weight after intentional loss, typically defined as keeping off a substantial portion of lost weight for at least one year, and requiring long-term behavioral and medical support.

A structured program of dietary change, increased physical activity, and behavioral strategies delivered with counseling and self-monitoring, forming the foundation of obesity treatment.

A collaborative, person-centered counseling style that elicits and strengthens a patient's own motivation and commitment to change by exploring ambivalence without confrontation.

Negative beliefs and discriminatory treatment directed at people with obesity, which can harm mental health, reduce care-seeking, and undermine weight-management efforts.

A pharmacologic agent approved to reduce body weight and improve obesity-related complications, used as an adjunct to lifestyle intervention for eligible patients.

A drug class that mimics glucagon-like peptide-1 to slow gastric emptying, enhance satiety, and improve glycemic control, producing clinically meaningful weight loss.

A dual glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist that improves glycemic control and produces substantial weight reduction in adults with obesity.

A lipase inhibitor that reduces intestinal absorption of dietary fat, producing modest weight loss and commonly causing gastrointestinal adverse effects such as steatorrhea.

A sympathomimetic appetite suppressant approved for short-term weight management, which raises blood pressure and heart rate and is contraindicated in uncontrolled hypertension.

Operative procedures that alter the gastrointestinal tract to produce durable weight loss and metabolic improvement, also called bariatric surgery, and indicated for selected patients with severe obesity.

A bariatric operation that removes most of the stomach to create a narrow tubular remnant, reducing intake and altering gut hormones to produce sustained weight loss.

A bariatric procedure that creates a small gastric pouch connected to a limb of jejunum, bypassing most of the stomach and proximal small bowel to reduce intake and absorption.

A complication of gastric surgery in which rapid emptying of concentrated food into the small bowel causes nausea, cramping, diarrhea, and vasomotor symptoms after eating.