Correlations
2 variables which either have a positive or negative relationship between them.
Causation
A change in 1 variable results in a change in another variable.
Null hypothesis
Hypothesis which assumes there are no differences between sets of observations.
Hypertension
High blood pressure which occurs even when a person is at rest.
Systolic pressure
The blood pressure during the phase of the cardiac cycle when the ventricles are relaxed.
Diastolic pressure
The blood pressure during the phrase of the cardiac cycle when the ventricles are contracting.
Sphygmomanometer
A traditional device used to measure blood pressure.
Oedema
Swelling cause by the accumulation of tissue fluid.
Tissue fluid
The fluid that surrounds the cells in the body, supplying them with substances they need & taking away waste products.
Calorie
Unit of energy
1 calorie is the amount of energy needed to raise the temp of 1g of water by 1•C.
Kilocalories
Unit of energy equal to 1000 calories
1 kilocalorie is the amount of energy required to raise the temp of 1kg of water by 1•C
Kilojoule
Unit of energy equal to 1000 joules
BMR
The metabolic rate of someone who is at rest but not asleep.
A measure of energy required for activities that go on all the time e.g. beating of heart & breathing.
Obesity
BMI in excess of 30
Overweight to the extent that there are substantial health risks.
BMI
A figure used to describe a person’s body mass relative to height.
BMI = body mass (kg)/ height squared (m)
Waist-to-hip ratio
Obesity indicator calculated by dividing waist circumference by hip circumference.
Women = <0.85
Men = <0.9
Insulin
A hormone produced by endocrine cells in the pancreas.
Helps to regulate blood glucose concentration.
Blood glucose levels
Measure of glucose concentrated in the blood.
Pancreas
A gland found just below the stomach
It’s an endocrine gland because it secretes insulin into blood.
It’s also an exocrine gland because it secretes enzymes into a duct which takes them into the intestine.
Multifactorial
A condition e.g. human height, in which several genes & 1 or more environmental factors are involved.