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The human body was designed for life forty thousand years ago, when the ability to store energy in times of plenty meant the difference between life and death during famine. This protective mechanism is a source of trouble when food, in unlimited ...
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The mechanism for excessive weight gain is clear— more calories are consumed than the body burns, and the excess calories are stored as fat (adipose) tissue. However, the exact cause is not as clear and likely arises from a complex combination of ...
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The mechanism for excessive weight gain is clear— more calories are consumed than the body burns , and the excess calories are stored as fat (adipose) tissue. However, the exact cause is not as clear and likely arises from a complex combination of...
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Although obesity can be a side effect of certain hormonal disorders or use of certain medications, the primary cause of obesity in children and adolescents is excess calorie consumption coupled with a sedentary lifestyle. Children and adolescents ...
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Breathing difficulty involves a sensation of difficult or uncomfortable breathing or a feeling of not getting enough air. See also: Difficulty breathing - first aid
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Shortness of breath, or dyspnea, is a feeling of difficult or labored breathing that is out of proportion to the patient's level of physical activity. It is a symptom of a variety of different diseases or disorders and may be either acute or chronic.
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Pain is a universal human experience. The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage...
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Pain, medically termed "nociception," is a response to noxious stimuli that is conveyed to the brain by sensory neurons . The discomfort signals actual or impending injury to the body. However, pain is more than a sensation, or the physical awaren...
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Pain is an unpleasant feeling that is conveyed to the brain by sensory neurons. The discomfort signals actual or potential injury to the body. However, pain is more than a sensation, or the physical awareness of pain; it also includes perception, ...
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Pain is an unpleasant feeling that is conveyed to the brain by sensory neurons. The discomfort signals actual or potential injury to the body. However, pain is more than a sensation, or the physical awareness of pain; it also includes perception, ...
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Pain is an unpleasant feeling that is conveyed to the brain by nerves in the body.
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Depression may be described as feeling sad, blue, unhappy, miserable, or down in the dumps. Most of us feel this way at one time or another for short periods. True clinical depression is a mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, o...
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Depression, also known as depressive disorders or unipolar depression, is a mental illness characterized by a profound and persistent feeling of sadness or despair and/or a loss of interest in things that once were pleasurable. Disturbance in slee...
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Back pain may occur in the upper, middle, or lower back; it is most often experienced in the lower back. It may originate from the bones and ligaments forming the spine, the muscles and tendons supporting the back, the nerves that exit the spinal ...
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Hypertension is the term used to describe high blood pressure. Blood pressure readings are measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg) and usually given as two numbers. For example, 120 over 80 (written as 120/80 mmHg. The top number is your systoli...
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Blood pressure is the force with which blood pushes against the artery walls as it travels through the body. Like air in a balloon, blood fills arteries to a certain capacity—and just as too much air pressure can cause damage to a balloon, too muc...
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Also known as high blood pressure, a condition in which too much force is exerted by the blood as it travels through the body's arteries. There are two types of hypertension: primary and secondary. Primary, or essential, hypertension is caused by ...
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Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of arteries as it flows through them. Arteries are the blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood from the heart to the body's ...
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The National High Blood Pressure Education Program (NHBPEP) was established in 1972 by the National Institute of Health to translate research results on the health hazards of high blood pressure into clinical and public health practice. Before 190...
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Hypertension is high blood pressure. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of arteries. Arteries are the blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood from the heart to the body's tissues.
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Hypertension is high blood pressure. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of arteries as it flows through them. Arteries are the blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood from the heart to the body's tissues.
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Hypertension is high blood pressure . Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of arteries as it flows through them.
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Fatigue is a feeling of weariness, tiredness, or lack of energy.
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Fatigue is physical and/or mental exhaustion that can be triggered by stress , medication, overwork, or mental and physical illness or disease.
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Fatigue may be defined as a subjective state in which one feels tired or exhausted, and in which the capacity for normal work or activity is reduced. There is, however, no commonly accepted definition of fatigue when it is considered in the contex...
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Fatigue may be defined as a subjective state in which one feels tired or exhausted, and in which the capacity for normal work or activity is reduced. There is, however, no commonly accepted definition of fatigue when it is considered in the contex...
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Fatigue is physical and/or mental exhaustion that can be triggered by stress , medication, overwork, or mental and physical illness or disease.
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Fatigue is a feeling of exhaustion or loss of strength. The duration of fatigue for a patient with cancer has been found to last from one to two times the length of time between diagnosis and completion of treatment, so it is common for fatigue to...
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Unintentional weight gain is an increase in body weight that occurs when a person takes in more calories than the body needs or uses.
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The term overweight is used to describe an excess amount of total body weight including all tissues (fat, bone, muscle, etc.) and water. Obesity , in contrast, is an excess amount of body fat. An adult woman or man who has a body-fat percentage ex...
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Being tired is the familiar aftermath of physical exertion, prolonged labor or lack of sleep. When does being tired become a symptom of a condition? Fatigue, malaise, lassitude, exhaustion are all subtle variations of the same subjective feelings of not having enough energy to meet the demands of one's life.
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Weakness is a reduction in the strength of one or more muscles.
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Snoring is a loud, hoarse, or harsh breathing sound that occurs during sleep.
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Snoring is a sound generated during sleep when the roof of the mouth vibrates.
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Snoring is a sound generated during sleep by vibration of loose tissue in the upper airway.
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Pain felt in your lower back may come from the spine, muscles, nerves, or other nearby structures. It may also be due to problems in your mid or upper back, the testicles or ovaries, or a hernia in the groin.
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Low back pain (LBP) is a common complaint—second only to cold and flu as a reason why patients seek care from their family doctor. It may be a limited musculoskeletal symptom or caused by a variety of diseases and disorders that affect or extend f...
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Back pain is one of the most common health complaints. Almost everyone will have back pain at some time in their life. Most of the time, the exact cause of the pain cannot be found. This article discusses long-term (chronic) low back pain. For inf...
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Low back pain is a common musculoskeletal symptom that may be either acute or chronic. It may be caused by a variety of diseases and disorders that affect the lumbar spine. Low back pain is often accompanied by sciatica , which is pain that involv...
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Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that causes excessive sleepiness and frequent daytime sleep attacks.
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Narcolepsy is a disorder marked by excessive daytime sleepiness, uncontrollable sleep attacks, and cataplexy (a sudden loss of muscle tone, usually lasting up to half an hour).
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Narcolepsy is a disorder marked by excessive daytime sleepiness, uncontrollable sleep attacks, and cataplexy (a sudden loss of muscle tone, usually lasting up to half an hour).
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Narcolepsy is a disorder marked by excessive daytime sleepiness, uncontrollable sleep attacks, and cataplexy (a sudden loss of muscle tone, usually lasting up to half an hour).
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Narcolepsy is a disorder marked by excessive daytime sleepiness, uncontrollable sleep attacks, and cataplexy (a sudden loss of muscle tone, usually lasting up to half an hour).
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Narcolepsy is a disorder of the nervous system marked by excessive daytime sleepiness, uncontrollable sleep attacks, and cataplexy (a sudden loss of muscle tone, usually lasting up to half an hour). The American Psychiatric Association (APA) class...
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Narcolepsy is a disorder marked by excessive daytime sleepiness, uncontrollable sleep attacks, and cataplexy (a sudden loss of muscle tone, usually lasting up to half an hour).
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Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by uncontrollable episodes of sleepiness during the day. Episodes can last from a few seconds to more than an hour and can significantly interfere with daily activities.
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Depression is sometimes referred to as the common cold of mental illness. It is a debilitating disease with significant societal costs. It is, however, one of the most clearly defined and treatable of mental illnesses. Technically, the term "depre...
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Everybody feels sad sometimes, but to be clinically depressed is not just a matter of feeling sad. A patient with cancer is diagnosed as having major depression only if certain symptoms, such as loss of pleasure or thoughts of death, are present f...
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An emotional state or mood characterized by one or more of these symptoms: sad mood, low energy, poor concentration, sleep or appetite changes, feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness, and thoughts of suicide. Until recently, it was thought that...
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Depression is the general name for a family of illnesses known as depressive disorders. Depression is an illness that affects not only the mood and thoughts, but also the physical functions of affected individuals. Depressive disorders usually res...
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Depression and depressive disorders (unipolar depression) are mental illnesses characterized by a profound and persistent feeling of sadness or despair and/or a loss of interest in things that once were pleasurable. Disturbance in sleep , appetite...
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Depression is the general name for a family of illnesses known as depressive disorders. Depression is an illness that affects not only the mood and thoughts, but also the physical functions of affected individuals. Depressive disorders usually res...
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Depression or depressive disorders (unipolar depression) are mental illnesses characterized by a profound and persistent feeling of sadness or despair and/or a loss of interest in things that were once pleasurable. Disturbance in sleep, appetite, ...
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Depression or depressive disorders (unipolar depression) are mental illnesses characterized by a profound and persistent feeling of sadness or despair and/or a loss of interest in things that were once pleasurable. Disturbance in sleep, appetite, ...
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A depressive disorder is defined by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) as an illness that involves the body, mood and thoughts. It encompasses feelings of overwhelming sadness and despair that persist or intensify over time.
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Painless swelling of the feet and ankles is a common problem, particularly among older people. Abnormal buildup of fluid in the ankles, feet, and legs is called peripheral edema.
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Hump behind the shoulders is a lump of fat on the back of the neck.
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The menstrual cycle is not the same for every woman. On average, menstrual flow occurs every 28 days (with most women having cycles between 24 and 34 days), and lasts about 4-7 days. However, there is a wide variation in timing and duration that i...
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Anything that interferes with the normal menstrual cycle, causing pain , unusually heavy or light bleeding, or missed periods.
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Considered an important component of emotional health, self-esteem encompasses both self-confidence and self-acceptance. Experiences at home, at school, and with peers can all build or diminish a child's self-esteem. Psychologists and child-care a...
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Considered an important component of emotional health, self-esteem encompasses both self-confidence and self-acceptance. It is the way individuals perceive themselves and their self-value.
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Yawning involves opening the mouth involuntarily while taking a long, deep breath of air. This is usually done as a result of drowsiness or weariness. Excessive yawning is yawning that happens more often than would be expected, even if drowsiness ...
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