Bariatrics

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The branch of medicine focuses on the treatment of obesity and related disorders
2. This field encompasses various approaches to weight management, including dietary, surgical, and behavioral interventions
3. It involves the study and management of obesity through both clinical and historical perspectives in healthcare

Etymology: The word was coined in 1961 by the American physician Raymond E. Dietz, who needed a name for a specialty focused on treating obesity. He built it from the Greek "baros," meaning "weight," and the "-iatrics" ending, which comes from the Greek "iatrikos," relating to healing or medical treatment. The same ending appears in "pediatrics," the care of children, and "geriatrics," the care of the elderly. The pattern makes the new word transparent: a medical field defined by the patient's body characteristic it addresses, placed alongside the older medical specialties that name the patient group or the organ. Dietz's coinage gave the treatment of obesity a formal disciplinary label that could stand beside them.

Synonyms: obesity treatment, weight management