Weight Management

Weight management means achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight. Your body weight can affect your health in many ways.

Being overweight can increase your risk of developing high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease.

Being a healthy weight reduces your risk of these problems. It can make you feel healthier and better about yourself.

Medical experts recommend that to maintain your health and weight you should do 30 minutes of moderate exercise on most days. This can be accumulated by doing 10 minute bouts of exercise. Remember you only have to take it regularly not seriously. This can include walking, swimming, dancing and gardening.

Healthy eating is just as important if you are underweight. If you are looking to increase your body weight you should consult a dietitian. If you have experienced unexplained weight loss, you should consult your local general practitioner.

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Diabetes

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is an endocrine disorder that affects approximately one in ten women. It occurs amongst all races and nationalities, is the most common hormonal disorder among women of reproductive age, and is a leading cause of infertility.

The principal features are weight problems, lack of regular ovulation and/or menstruation and excessive amounts or effects of androgenic (masculinizing) hormones. The symptoms and severity of the syndrome vary greatly between women.

While the causes are unknown, insulin resistance, diabetes and obesity are all strongly correlated with PCOS. [More information]

Impaired Glucose Transfer (IGT)

Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT) is a pre-diabetic state of dysglycemia, that is associated with insulin resistance and increased risk of cardiovascular pathology.

In people with impaired glucose tolerance, blood glucose levels are higher than normal but less than the level required for a diagnosis of diabetes. Blood glucose levels normally rise after eating a meal then gradually fall as the meal is digested. However in people with impaired glucose tolerance, these levels remain elevated.

Impaired glucose tolerance is detected through the same test used to detect diabetes - the oral glucose tolerance test.

Improvements in glucose tolerance can be achieved through participation in regular physical activity and weight reduction.

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Metabolic Disorder

A metabolic disorder is a medical disorder which affects the production of energy within individual animal cells. Most metabolic disorders are genetic, though a few are "acquired" as a result of diet, toxins, infections, etc. Genetic metabolic disorders are also known as inborn errors of metabolism.

In general, the genetic metabolic disorders are caused by genetic defects that result in missing or improperly constructed enzymes necessary for some step in the metabolic process of the cell.

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM)

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus or GDM) is a condition in which women without previously diagnosed diabetes exhibit high blood glucose levels during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes affects 3-10% of pregnancies, depending on the population studied.

No specific cause has been identified, but it is believed that the hormones produced during pregnancy reduce a woman's sensitivity to insulin, resulting in high blood sugar levels.

Gestational diabetes generally has few symptoms and it is most commonly diagnosed by screening during pregnancy. Diagnostic tests detect high levels of glucose in blood samples.

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Food Intolerance

Food intolerance is the term used to describe a pharmacological reaction to a food component. A pharmacological reaction refers to the drug-like side effects caused by a range of chemicals which may be present in food as natural or added components. Food chemicals that have been implicated in causing pharmacological reactions include salicylates, amines and benzoates which are natural components of foods. Others include a range of food additives which are used in the food processing and preservation of foods.

Food intolerance is much more common than food allergy. The range of symptoms which can be induced by food intolerance is very similar to those caused by food allergy, so that on initial presentation, it can be difficult to differentiate between the two conditions. However, food intolerance may also lead to more diffuse symptoms such as drowsiness, fatigue, irritability, headache and muscular aches and pains.

Fatty Liver

Gastrointestinal Problems

• Coeliac Disease
• I.B.S. (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
• GORD Reflux
• Chron's Disease
• Constipation
• Lactose Intolerance

Coeliac Disease is a condition in which the lining of the small intestine becomes damaged when it is exposed to even small amounts of gluten, which is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye and possibly oats. As a result, affected patients absorb food and nutrients poorly. This can result in bowel symptoms and deficiencies of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a functional bowel disorder characterized by abdominal pain and changes in bowel habits which are not associated with any abnormalities seen on routine clinical testing. It is fairly common and makes up 20–50% of visits to gastroenterologists.

Lower abdominal pain, and bloating associated with alteration of bowel habits and abdominal discomfort relieved with defecation are the most frequent symptoms. [More information]

Acid reflux (also known as gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, GORD or GERD) is a disease of the lower oesophagus (foodpipe) and stomach.

Acid reflux involves inflammation and irritation of the lower oesophagus due to the reflux of food and gastric acid. This reflux of gastric contents is spontaneous and involuntary. [More information]

Crohn's disease is an inflammatory condition that affects the gastrointestinal tract. It is called a chronic condition because it lasts a long time and is a long-term medical condition. As yet there is no cure.

Eating Disorders

Both binge eating and bulimia involve eating excessive amounts of food, feeling out of control while eating, and feeling guilty or ashamed afterward. But bulimia nervosa (sometimes called binge-purge syndrome) is different from binge eating disorder because people with bulimia vomit or use laxatives to try to keep themselves from gaining weight after eating. They may also try to burn off the extra calories by exercising compulsively as a way of making up for overeating. People with binge eating disorder do not have these "purge" characteristics.

Unlike bulimia and binge eating, which involve out-of-control overeating, people with anorexia are preoccupied with thinness and starve themselves to feel more in control. People with anorexia have a distorted body image and believe they're fat — even though they actually may be dangerously thin. Like people with bulimia, some people with anorexia may also exercise compulsively to lose weight.

All three of these eating disorders involve unhealthy eating patterns that begin gradually and build to the point where a person feels unable to control them. All eating disorders can lead to serious health consequences, and all involve emotional distress.

Binge Eating Disorder

Binge eating involves more than just eating a lot. With binge eating, a person feels out of control and powerless to stop eating while he or she is doing it. That's why binge eating is also called compulsive overeating.

People with a binge eating problem may overeat when they feel stressed, upset, hurt, or angry. Many find it comforting and soothing to eat, but after a binge they are likely to feel guilty and sad about the out-of-control eating. Binge eating is often a mixed-up way of dealing with or avoiding difficult emotions.

Pregnancy

Heart Health

• Cholesterol
• High Blood Pressure
• Warfarin

Coronary heart disease - disease of the coronary arteries around the heart - leads to heart attacks. Together with the same disease in other arteries, it ultimately leads to the death of nearly half of us.

Most people who develop heart disease have recognised risk factors which contribute to the cause of the disease. The so-called 'major risk factors' include:

• Raised cholesterol level in the blood
• Raised blood pressure
• Smoking.

Nutrition Support

• Cancer
• Weight Gain

Anaemia