home Audience 2 Why there can be no appetite. Loss of appetite due to nervousness (stress, neurosis, depression): what to do

Why there can be no appetite. Loss of appetite due to nervousness (stress, neurosis, depression): what to do

A healthy person with normal physical activity experiences the feeling of hunger at least three times a day. At the same time, he has food preferences, but no aversion to certain types of food. And portions that give a feeling of fullness weigh at least 300 grams. If at least one of these points is violated, the person is considered to have a decreased appetite.

Why did I lose my appetite?

The most trivial reasons for lack of appetite are the following.

Hot weather. At elevated temperature air there is often no appetite. The reasons are simple: when food is digested, heat is released, and the body thus tries to protect itself from overheating.

Insufficient fluid intake. To digest food and remove waste (decomposition products) nutrients) requires a lot of liquid. If there is little fluid intake, the body may not be able to cope with the load, and intoxication will occur. Therefore, it is easier for the body to refuse food than to cope with such consequences.

Low physical activity. With low physical activity, a person expends little energy and does not require additional calories. That's why poor appetite in this case – the absolute norm.

Flaw fresh air. If you sit cooped up all day and breathe in house fumes, hypoxia (or lack of oxygen) will inevitably occur. This pathological condition disrupts the normal course of all processes in the body, and the digestion process is no exception. The consequence is reduced or completely absent appetite.

Taking certain medications. Before you start taking any medication, even one prescribed by a doctor, you should definitely read the list of possible side effects. Decreased appetite is the most common side effect.

Initial stage of pregnancy. Usually, from the 6th week of pregnancy, various appetite disorders begin to appear, including its complete absence. This is normal if it is not accompanied by debilitating vomiting.

Reducing your appetite is very easy! Find out which products healing herbs And medications will help you with this. And get 8 effective techniques to combat bouts of evening eating.

Eating habits are the basic factor on which a slim figure depends healthy person. What's happened eating habits? This is what a person eats, how often he eats, and also how much food he feels full of. It is important to take into account psychological attachments. For example, if in stressful situation a person is drawn to sweets - this will most likely provoke the appearance of extra pounds.

"Lever" control eating behavior is appetite. Moderate appetite is an indicator of health. And unbridled appetite most often pushes a person into breakdowns, which entail painful reproaches of conscience for eating more than normal.

Psychology of overeating

If you don't figure it out psychological reasons overeating thoroughly, then a series of diets followed by the return of kilograms will last a lifetime. So if you are tormented uncontrollable seizures hunger, and after eating you often experience heaviness in the stomach and fatigue - you should clearly identify the reasons that make you overeat.

Unconscious habit from childhood

Paradoxically, adults often vaccinate bad habits children, taking care of them. For example, when parents force a child to eat strictly according to a schedule and definitely eat the entire portion - “in order to grow up healthy.” Thus, the child loses a sense of control over natural appetite. The result of such overprotection is a person with overweight and the problems that accompany it.

Food compensates for the lack of attention and love

This reason may be a continuation of the first. After all, if a teenager is inclined to be overweight, he, as a rule, acquires complexes. Even if you still manage to overcome extra pounds with age, you still have to cope with self-doubt, fear of public speaking, feeling of anxiety when communicating with strangers– much more difficult. Being overweight provokes isolation and a desire to isolate yourself from the outside world. Thus, lack of attention, communication, impossibility of self-realization - all this is replaced by food, which temporarily blocks all other needs.

Acts as a sedative

If transferred nervous tension makes you want to eat chocolate - this is a sure sign that your eating habits are leading to weight gain. Food should not be an antidepressant, and short-term pleasure is not worth the painful struggle with its consequences. If you want to reduce your appetite, start by understanding that food will not solve your problems, but if treated incorrectly, it can aggravate them.

Eating in a hurry

The process of eating food requires concentration and responsibility. That is, when starting a meal, you must understand how much and what you need. Snacks on the go, when you do not have time to eat a full meal and eat more than required - a direct path to extra pounds. In addition, “piece-mealing” threatens disturbances in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. intestinal tract.

How to reduce your appetite and become healthier

It has been scientifically proven that it takes 21 days to form a habit. If you are determined to lose excess weight, then first you will have to get rid of bad habits, but get some useful ones. When you manage to moderate your appetite and adjust your diet, your stomach will get used to less food, which will make you lose weight. In addition, the body will experience less stress, which will maintain health and prolong youth. Give yourself the mindset to follow food discipline for 21 days, and the result will not only please you, but will also give you confidence in your abilities.

There are several approaches to reducing appetite. You can choose the most optimal one for yourself, or alternate them. The most important thing is not to starve and listen carefully to how you feel. If you feel weak, experience nausea, dizziness, pain in the gastrointestinal tract, or disturbances in the functioning of the cardiovascular system, consult a doctor immediately.

Products to reduce appetite

Folk remedies

It is important to remember what to eat herbal infusions should be at least 30 minutes before meals.

you can cook herbal infusions and teas, combining different components. For example, nettle, burdock root and ginger root. By adding 2 teaspoons of dried chamomile, you will get excellent remedy, which will reduce the feeling of hunger and have a calming effect.

Herbs

Almost all herbs that are used to reduce appetite have diuretic properties, so it is extremely important to use them correctly so as not to cause dehydration.

Drugs

Biologically different active additives(abbreviated as dietary supplements) and appetite suppressant pills, as a rule, have side effects and have contraindications: pregnancy, lactation, allergic reactions. Their effect is to suppress natural hormones by affecting the nervous system. This is fraught with various negative health consequences: allergies, digestive and nervous disorders. Taking the drug is a temporary measure, which is only an auxiliary action in the process of losing weight. If you intend to get rid of extra pounds forever, it is important to change your eating habits on a conscious level.

If you decide to take a particular drug to reduce excessive cravings for food, consult your doctor. If there are no contraindications, strictly follow the dosage and under no circumstances try to increase permissible norm. If you feel nausea, pain in the gastrointestinal tract, or weakness, stop taking the drug.

During pregnancy

Remember that taking appetite suppressants during pregnancy and breastfeeding is strictly prohibited.

Try to eat regularly.
Eat more often, but in smaller portions, so that the feeling of hunger does not have time to worsen.
Eat more fresh fruits.
Try to avoid stores where you risk being tempted by fresh pastries, chocolate, etc.
Prepare yourself healthy desserts yourself. For example, based on natural cottage cheese.
If you don't have allergies, eat walnuts and peanuts without salt and seasoning, but not more than 100 g per day.
Allow yourself sometimes what you want, but stretch out the pleasure, eat as slowly as possible.
Take care of the aesthetics of the space and table setting. It is also important that the room in which you cook and eat is well lit and ventilated.
Spend more time outdoors, walk.

How to reduce your appetite in the evening

If you are familiar with the problem of increased hunger in the evening, then use these recommendations:

Eat right. Be sure to have breakfast (the morning meal should be the largest) and lunch. For dinner it is better to eat something protein: 250 g of boiled chicken fillet and two cucumbers, 200 g of shrimp and 200 g of baked vegetables (for example, zucchini + tomatoes), 250 g of cottage cheese (5-9% fat) and 1 grapefruit.
If after dinner you still feel drawn to the refrigerator, drink green tea with lemon.
Switch to some activity: get a manicure, sort through files on your computer, read a book.
Take a walk outside.
Give yourself a “royal” bath: use aroma oils, salts, foam, herbs. This will also relieve stress after a hard day.
Try meditating.
Do 30 squats and 30 reps of the abdominal exercise.
Try on things that you would like to fit into: this will perfectly curb your appetite and motivate you to continue your struggle to stay slim.

Eating three nutritious meals a day can seem like a daunting task when you don't have a healthy appetite. A more motivating way to eat is to divide three main courses into five or six small portions.

As your appetite improves, you can begin to increase the quantity of these meals or add more ingredients to consume more calories throughout the day. For example, if you are eating a sandwich with meat, also include some vegetables and cheese to add more calories and nutrients.

Let's summarize:

Eat five or six smaller meals a day instead of three large ones. As your appetite improves, you can begin to increase your portions and add more ingredients.

2. Eat nutrient-rich foods

People who have poor appetite tend to consume empty calories such as candy, potato chips, ice cream and baked goods in order to gain weight. Although these types of foods may seem more appetizing and high in calories, they are a bad idea because they provide very little nutrition to the body.

Instead of consuming such foods, focus on foods that provide you with calories and wide range nutrients such as proteins and healthy fats. For example, instead of ice cream for dessert, you can have 1 cup of plain Greek yogurt with the sweetness of berries and cinnamon. Likewise, if you're craving pizza, you can make it at home and add more vegetables and protein for extra nutrients.

Let's summarize:

Reduce your intake of empty calories. Instead, focus on eating more nutritious foods that contain proteins. healthy fats and whole grains.

3. Add more calories to your meals

If you are concerned about how to increase your appetite, there is another way that will help increase your appetite and provide your body with enough nutrients throughout the day. You just need to add more calories to your diet.

One way to do this is to cook with high-calorie ingredients such as butter, nut butters, olive oil or whole milk.

For example:

Add 45 calories: Cook eggs with butter.
Add 80 calories: Cook oatmeal with whole milk instead of water.
Add 80 calories: add to salads olive oil and avocado.
Add 100 calories: spread a small amount of apple slices peanut butter and use as a snack.

Simple supplements like these can further provide your body with healthier calories and increase your overall calorie intake.

Let's summarize:

When preparing various meals, add high-calorie ingredients to help you consume more calories throughout the day.

4. Make mealtimes an enjoyable experience.

How to increase your appetite easily and pleasantly? Cooking and dining with others can help stimulate your appetite more than eating alone. To make your food more appetizing, you can invite friends and family over for lunch/dinner. If they can't come and keep you company, try eating while watching TV.

These strategies can help take your attention away from food. The study found that eating with friends can increase food consumption by 18%, and eating while watching TV can increase food consumption by 14%. Having lunches and meals together, combined with entertainment, can help you enjoy food more and improve poor appetite.

Let's summarize:

If you eat with friends and family or eat in front of the TV, you can distract yourself from the food you are eating, which will encourage you to eat more of it.

5. Trick your brain with different plate sizes

How to improve your appetite by tricking your brain? If you have a poor appetite, the sight of large portions can make you feel overwhelmed and reluctant. The way to avoid these negative feelings is to trick your brain into thinking that you are still eating a small portion. You can do this by serving the food on a large plate instead of a small one.

Some studies have shown that increasing the size of your plate can make you eat larger portions of food. This happens even if you don't really like the food. In other words, you can eat more food if you serve it on a larger plate. This may increase daily consumption calories, especially if you eat high-calorie foods.

Let's summarize:

Eating with large plates may help you eat more.

6. Eat on time

Try planning out your daily eating schedule and setting a reminder for each meal to start eating regularly. A regular eating schedule is important to stimulate your appetite - this will help you consume enough calories and nutrients every day.

Let's summarize:

Scheduling and setting meal reminders can help you increase your appetite and keep track of your food intake.

7. Don't skip breakfast

Consuming breakfast on a daily basis is important when you want to increase your appetite and gain weight.

A review study found that skipping breakfast may cause you to eat less throughout the day, which has the opposite effect. Additionally, breakfast helps increase the body's thermogenesis effect, causing you to burn more calories throughout the day. It's good for your appetite.

If you're trying to eat more, eating breakfast every day is just as important as eating regularly throughout the day.

Let's summarize:

Eating breakfast daily can increase your appetite and increase thermogenesis, which may encourage you to eat more.

8. Eat less fiber

A high-fiber diet has been shown to promote a feeling of fullness and reduce calorie intake - this is especially beneficial for those who want to lose weight, but just want to improve their appetite and possibly gain weight.

Although high-fiber foods are recommended in a balanced diet, they can slow down digestion and keep you feeling fuller longer. Therefore, you may want to adjust your fiber intake if you are wondering how to improve poor appetite.

To improve your appetite, increase your intake of low-fiber foods and slightly reduce your intake of high-fiber foods - this will help relieve the feeling of fullness and may help you eat more throughout the day.

Let's summarize:

Reducing the amount of fiber in your diet may reduce the feeling of fullness in your stomach and encourage your intake more food during the day.

9. Drink your calories

Chugging calories can be a more motivating way to increase your calorie intake than chewing food when you don't feel too hungry. Practical way Drinking your calories means replacing some of your meals with nutritious, high-calorie drinks.

Smoothies, milkshakes and juices can be good drinks replacing some meals. Try making them with nutritious ingredients such as fruits and vegetables. You can also add good sources protein such as whole milk, yogurt or protein powder for extra calories and nutrients.

Let's summarize:

Drinking calorie-dense and nutritious drinks instead of some snacks throughout the day can help motivate you to consume your food.

10. Include healthy snacks

Eating large meals can be intimidating, while small, easy-to-eat snacks can be more convenient, making it less of an effort to increase your food intake. Snacks can also be helpful when you're on the go.

However, appetizers are not intended to replace main courses, but rather to complement them. Therefore, avoid eating snacks before meals because they may worsen your appetite.

Here are some examples of healthy snacks:

Fruits such as bananas, apples and oranges.
Protein bars or granola bars.
Greek yogurt or cottage cheese and fruit.
Olive oil and crackers.
Salty snacks such as popcorn or mixed dried fruits and nuts.

Let's summarize:

Eating small, healthy snacks throughout the day can help increase your calorie intake and increase your desire to eat.

11. Eat more of your favorite foods

How to increase your appetite - with what foods? When you have a dish in front of you that you know and love, you are probably much more inclined to eat it than a dish that you find unappealing. Research shows that if you can choose what you eat, you will be able to eat more and eat more often than if you don't have the opportunity to choose your foods.

To help you consume more of these foods, it's important to take some time to plan and prepare them ahead of time so you can always use them. However, if your favorite foods are unhealthy (for example, from restaurants fast food), you can try making them yourself or serve them with healthier ingredients to make them more nutritious.

Let's summarize:

Eat more of the foods you love. This will help you eat normally and stimulate your appetite.

12. Use herbs and spices

Another remedy that improves appetite is herbs and spices. Some foods can slow digestion and produce gas, which can lead to a feeling of heaviness, bloating, and decreased appetite.

A type of seasoning called carminative herbs and spices may help reduce bloating and flatulence, and improve appetite. They can also stimulate bile production to facilitate the digestion of fats.

Here are some examples of carminative herbs and spices that are classified as appetite-increasing foods:

fennel
black pepper
coriander
cinnamon

In addition to helping reduce the feeling of heaviness in your stomach, these herbs and spices can help make your meals more delicious and appealing. When your food smells and tastes good, it can create a good appetite.

Bitter tonics are another type of herbal preparation that can help increase appetite by stimulating the production of digestive enzymes. Here is an appetite-improving herb that is classified as a bitter tonic:

gentian
Blessed Knikus
centaury

You can start supplementing with some of these herbs, spices, or bitter tonics by adding them to your meals or consuming them as teas or tinctures.

Let's summarize:

Some herbs, spices and bitter tonics are good for increasing your appetite, aiding digestion, reducing flatulence and making your food more palatable.

13. Increase physical activity

How to increase your appetite naturally without resorting to taking various herbs? During physical activity, your body burns calories to maintain energy levels. Physical activity may increase your appetite as your body needs to replenish the calories it burns.

One study involved 12 people who were exposed to... physical activity. During this period, they burned an average of 835 extra calories per day. In addition, scientists observed increased cravings for food in the subjects, from which they were able to replenish 30% of the calories burned during exercise.

You shouldn't expect to improve your appetite after your first workout, but if you are consistent and stick to a weekly workout schedule, your appetite will likely improve within just a few days.

Additionally, physical activity can affect several processes in your body that have been shown to stimulate hunger. These include an increase in metabolic rate and muscle mass, as well as changes in hormone production.

Let's summarize:

Physical activity can cause you to burn more calories and stimulate your appetite, increasing your metabolic rate and hormone production.

14. Limit drinks during meals

Drinking fluids before or during meals can negatively affect your appetite and cause you to eat less. Research has shown that drinking water before meals can reduce calorie intake and help with weight loss. This appears to affect older people more than younger people.

In contrast, avoiding drinking water or drinks before meals can increase calorie intake by 8.7%. So try to drink water according to at least 30 minutes before meals and see if your appetite improves.

Let's summarize:

Drinking water or other liquids consumed before or with meals can affect your appetite and cause you to eat less.

15. Some supplements may also help.

Deficiencies of certain vitamins and minerals can reduce your appetite. If you're wondering how to increase your appetite, consider including some of these supplements in your diet, which serve as appetite boosters when deficient:

Zinc: Lack of zinc in the diet can lead to loss of appetite and taste disturbances, which may contribute to a decreased desire to eat (see Zinc deficiency: symptoms in women and men).
Thiamine: Thiamine deficiency can lead to decreased appetite and increased energy expenditure during rest, leading to weight loss.
Fish fat: Some studies have shown that this natural preparation in the form of clear gelatin capsules, may help increase appetite and reduce the feeling of fullness in women after eating.
Echinacea: This is a plant used to stimulate immune system and disease control. Research has shown that echinacea also contains compounds called alkylamines, which can stimulate your appetite. You can learn more about the beneficial properties and uses of Echinacea here - Echinacea: medicinal properties and contraindications, use of Echinacea.

Let's summarize:

Deficiencies of certain vitamins and minerals can cause poor appetite. Taking certain supplements can help increase your appetite.

16. Keep a food diary

Keeping a food diary will help you keep track of what you eat and make sure you're consuming enough calories throughout the day. Writing down each meal and your hunger levels can also help you understand how your appetite is improving. Aim to write down every food item, meal, and snack you eat, no matter how small. When your appetite is poor, counting each calorie gives you an idea of how well you are achieving your daily goal.

Let's summarize:

Keeping a food diary will help you track your food intake and improve your eating habits and appetite.

Summarize

Many factors can affect your appetite, including physical illness, mental states, medications and vitamin or mineral deficiencies. However, small changes may have great importance. You can try to increase your appetite by inviting people over for meals and cooking new recipes, and using spices, herbs and high-calorie ingredients to make the food more appealing and nutritious.

Try to limit your intake of water and drinks before and during meals, and moderate your intake of high-fiber foods, as these may worsen your appetite. If you find large meals challenging, motivating yourself to eat smaller meals more frequently can help increase your appetite.

Another trick is to eat your largest portion when you are hungry. The rest of the time, you can include smoothies and high-calorie drinks in your diet, which are easier to consume. If you're having trouble eating, it's always a good idea to consult your doctor, who can give you advice on how to increase your hunger and gain healthy pounds.

To the question: “An adult has no appetite, why?” there are many answers.

Nutrient deficiencies are a must will affect not only your well-being, but also your health. Therefore, the problem of their absence needs to be solved as soon as possible. How to increase appetite and why did it disappear?

The difference between hunger and appetite

Before diagnosing loss of appetite, it is important to understand the concept. Appetite is often confused with hunger, a reflex that occurs in the absence of food.

The mechanism of hunger development is triggered by a decrease in glucose levels, which causes a signal to be sent to the centers of the brain. When a hunger spasm occurs, a person actively salivates, their sense of smell improves, and pulling sensation"in the pit of the stomach"

All these symptoms help a person feel hungry and go in search of food. At the same time, he has no desire to eat certain foods; he is ready to eat any dish.

The manifestation of hunger, in which a person desires certain foods, is called appetite. This feeling is influenced by many factors: time of day, country of residence, taste preferences, emotional state.

A violation of habitual taste needs, when a person does not want food at all, is called a decrease in appetite. This condition leads to anorexia and other problems.

Associated symptoms

The brain sends a signal that the body needs to take food. It contains neurons that carry a signal to the digestive organs.

In the body of an individual experiencing a feeling of hunger, Insulin levels are increased and active production is underway gastric juice . The absence of hunger indicates that the brain is working on other needs. Decreased appetite – protection against certain diseases digestive system.

There are symptoms that often accompany a person with lack of appetite. Nausea and weakness are the most famous of them. Thanks to these signs, it is easier for doctors to determine the cause of loss of appetite.

Causes of decreased appetite

All the reasons why appetite disappears can be divided into two categories: pathological and non-pathological.

Pathological causes

Most often, poor appetite in adults indicates illness.

To forget about problems with appetite, you will need professional help.

TO pathological reasons decreased appetite include:

Intestinal dysbiosis. Beneficial and pathogenic microorganisms. If their balance is disturbed, the body does not receive the necessary microelements from food.
Endocrine problems. Lack of hormones leads to nausea and vomiting. As a result, the person becomes weak and loses appetite.
Chronic gastrointestinal diseases. Similar symptoms indicate a stomach ulcer, gastritis,. At the first signs of exacerbation of diseases, you should undergo preventive treatment.
Mental problems, neuroses. High workload, stress, lack of rest and moral support lead to apathy and depression. These problems are often accompanied by weakness, nausea, fatigue and lack of appetite.
Intoxication of the body. Harmful bacteria can provoke intoxication, as a result of which a person will feel weak and aversion to food.
Cardiovascular diseases. Wear and tear of blood vessels provokes general weakness body, and high blood pressure causes nausea.
Drug addiction. The need to constantly take medications forces the gastrointestinal tract to work hard. Because of this, gastritis, ulcers, and pancreatic pathologies may appear.
Oncology. During chemotherapy, many processes malfunction, especially in the functioning of the digestive organs.
Viruses and infections in the body. When illness occurs, there is often a significant decrease in appetite, as energy is directed toward fighting viruses. To prevent large amounts of toxins from leading to weakness and nausea, you should maintain water balance, namely drink plenty of fluids.

Non-pathological causes

Natural reasons cause a situation in which a person refuses to eat.

They do not depend on any disease, as they arise due to external pathogenic factors.

Distinctive features non-pathological reasons:

the duration of the symptoms does not exceed 4-5 days, then the increase in appetite occurs independently;
no need for medical attention or medication;
there is no negative impact on health;
symptoms recur no more than once a month;
loss of appetite does not lead to sudden weight loss.

The list of non-pathological causes includes the following conditions:

Menstruation. During this period, the female body is especially susceptible to the influence of hormones. Sharp rise levels of estrogen and progesterone provoke weakness and loss of appetite. At the end of the cycle, abdominal cramps and headaches are often added to these symptoms.
Binge eating. Lack of adequate nutrition during the day leads to increased appetite at night. The gastrointestinal tract organs were not exposed to stress all day, so in the evening, when preparing the body for sleep, the food consumed can cause bad dream, nausea and vomiting. All this will lead to a decrease in appetite.
Prolonged fasting. If a person voluntarily refuses to eat, this can cause nausea and weakness. Since in for a long time food does not enter, the secretion produced negatively affects the mucous membrane, irritating it. In the absence of food, performance decreases and weakness and loss of strength appear.

Diagnosis of poor appetite

Normal functioning is ensured by balance, which is an alternation of feelings of hunger and appetite. Violation normal condition for any reason leads to a decrease in appetite, and then a feeling of hunger.

Eating high-calorie foods can increase the interval between the onset of the desire to eat to 4-5 hours.

However, if hunger does not come for more than 8 hours, this is a signal that problems have appeared in the body.

A decrease in blood glucose levels will cause dizziness, weakness, and loss of strength.

To diagnose the cause of loss of appetite, you should consult a doctor. He will appoint full examination body, including testing. If a woman has a problem with appetite, pregnancy should first be ruled out.

Video - How to gain weight when you have no appetite?

What can you do to increase your appetite?

The reasons that provoked the loss of appetite and were identified during diagnosis are eliminated therapeutic methods. Parallel Doctors advise the patient to adhere to the following recommendations:

Follow a meal schedule. You need to eat several times a day in small portions. You should have dinner no later than three hours before bedtime. Eating at a specific time every day will help produce saliva and prepare the body to absorb food.
Food should be chewed slowly, without being distracted by extraneous stimuli (TV, computer). You should use attractive table settings and work on beautiful presentation of dishes.
Food should be tasty and varied.
When fighting poor appetite, it is very important to follow a daily routine: sleep at least eight hours, do not forget about rest. Physical activity in mild form welcome, as sport stimulates the urge to eat.
Stress, conflict situations, and bad emotions should be avoided.
In order for digestive juice to be produced more actively, you need to eat foods that stimulate this process, for example, pickled and salty foods. Spices, hot seasonings, herbs, sour berries, foods high in vitamins B and C, decoctions and infusions of bitter herbs help increase appetite.

Loss of appetite in old age

Lack of need to eat and persistent loss of appetite can occur in older people. Pensioners often limit themselves to healthy and nutritious foods due to financial problems. In addition, with age, it weakens, diarrhea begins, and the functioning of the receptors worsens. The body begins to digest food poorly.

The above factors affect appetite. To avoid problems with the gastrointestinal tract, you need to increase the number of easily digestible foods. The menu should include stewed vegetables, cereals, fish, meat low-fat varieties. Elderly people should remove fatty and fried foods, do not eat large portions and, if necessary, use a blender to grind food.

How to increase your child's appetite

Adults often have problems feeding their baby due to his refusal to eat. To increase children's appetite, you can take the following measures:

create an optimal diet age appropriate and the characteristics of the child;
maintain a meal schedule;
spend several hours a day in the fresh air;
include outdoor games and sports in the daily routine;
attractively design children's dishes;
add fruits and dried fruits to porridge;
do not force feed the child;
do not overfeed the baby;
reduce the number of snacks on cookies and other starchy foods;
Place small portions on a plate.

If the lack of appetite continues for several days, you should not look for the cause and treat it yourself. The specialist will quickly determine what is causing the loss of appetite and prescribe medications to increase it.

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When appetite is disrupted, not all people perceive it as alarming symptom. And in vain: a change in appetite may be one of the signs (although not unambiguous) of stomach diseases and/or duodenum. An appetite imbalance is also observed in other pathologies, for example:

infections of various types;
intoxication (poisoning);
problems with the endocrine system;
diseases nervous system, mental disorders;
vitamin deficiencies, anemia and other depletions.

Increased and decreased appetite: main reasons

Increased appetite is observed in patients with recovery period, also this syndrome often accompanies. Classic examples of perverted appetite are observed during pregnancy in women, as well as against the background of various mental disorders.

The symptom “no appetite” may be a sign characterized by a decrease in pancreatic secretion. At oncological diseases() patients often experience rejection certain type products, mainly meat and its derivatives, as well as loss of appetite up to anorexia - complete indifference to food. Sometimes experienced doctors cancer is correctly diagnosed based on a single symptom: when the patient complains for a long time of poor appetite, lack of pleasure from eating even his favorite food, as well as a perversion of taste.

A special condition that should be distinguished from loss of appetite is sitophobia, refusal of food. This may be a consequence of mental illness or an established fear of pain that worsens after eating - for example, in chronic ulcers. A perverted appetite with a desire to eat chalk, coal and similar substances is observed not only in pregnant women, but also in patients with gastritis with reduced or absent acid formation (achylic form).

Pathologies of the stomach and intestinal tract (duodenum) are extremely rarely accompanied by increased appetite; They are more likely to have a poor appetite. The syndrome that occurs with a peptic ulcer should be interpreted more as a need for frequent meals than as an increase in appetite: it is provoked by pain that occurs one and a half to three hours after eating (the so-called late pain) or after 5-6 hours (“ hunger pains). The desire to eat as quickly as possible, and in a supine position, is also typical for patients with disorders that arose after gastric resection; first of all, with the development of hypoglycemia - a complex symptom complex based on an imbalance of plasma glucose levels.

What is appetite?

The Latin word appetitus is translated as “desire, desire” and means the pleasure that a person receives in the process of eating. WITH medical point vision, appetite is a special physiological mechanism that forces a person to provide his body with nutrients in a timely manner.

Appetite is a complex and multi-valued concept. It is directly related to the work of a set of special brain structures called the food center; its most active sections are located in the cortex of both cerebral hemispheres and hypothalamus. So, we want to eat, first of all, with our heads!

What determines the presence or absence of appetite?

All information related to food comes to the food center of the brain and is processed:

how and in what quantities it arrives;
how is it absorbed?
what are the nutritional conditions;
How are food reserves used in the body?

Appetite does not arise when our body’s food resources are already exhausted, but in advance; This is a proactive system. Therefore, when changing the established diet, the brain can give “ alarm signal“, and appetite-forming irritants will begin to act differently, causing a decrease or increase in appetite.

Factors that affect appetite:

how intermediate metabolism occurs in the body, what is the level of its products in the blood;
how well/badly metabolic products are absorbed by cells;
how much water is contained in body tissues;
whether sufficient fat reserves have been accumulated.

Appetite is stimulated when the stomach is empty and its walls contract. A person with a low body temperature also wants to eat. Works to increase appetite external factors, for which the body has developed conditioned reflex: for example, view delicious dish, its smell (it’s not for nothing that thrifty housewives always go to the store after lunch). Even the sight of a wall clock marking the start of the lunch break can be an irritant!

Appetite gradually slows down during eating: the food taken stretches the gastric walls, its digestion begins, the breakdown products are absorbed, absorbed by the body, and changes accordingly hormonal background, and the food center gives the command - that’s enough, the person is full!

Types of appetite and its disorders

There are types of appetite:

general, or simply “I want to eat!”, when a person is ready to take any food;
specialized forms, when appetite is directed towards a particular type of product and is dictated by the body’s need for a specific group of substances: proteins or carbohydrates, fats, vitamins or minerals, etc.

On the one hand, appetite ensures that the right type of food enters the body in certain quantities. On the other hand, it “turns on” the mechanisms necessary for its absorption: salivation, secretion of gastric digestive juice. This is a well-established system by nature itself, and its impeccable operation most often indicates that a person is prosperous in both body and soul: good level appetite has always been considered a sign of health. But loss of appetite, on the contrary, signals the ill health of a particular system or organ. Anorexia (no appetite) or bulimia (pathological increase in appetite) often indicates problems with digestive tract, endocrine disorders, vitamin deficiency, mental disorders and even brain tumors. To return normal appetite, it is necessary to establish the correct eating schedule and, of course, begin to treat the underlying disease.

One of the most powerful factors that stimulates appetite is a change in blood sugar levels, especially if it occurs abruptly. To modern man It’s very easy to provoke this: it’s enough to eat a handful of candies in a few minutes, drink a bottle of soda in one gulp on a hot day, or go for a snack at a fast food restaurant. Then everything goes according to the established scheme:

excess sugar appears in the blood (its level can increase by 100-200%);
the body “sounds the alarm” and triggers a mechanism for accelerated conversion of sugar into fat deposits;
the sugar level drops sharply below normal, and the food center again assesses the situation as critical - you need to eat urgently!
the person experiences a new attack of appetite.

Appetite disorders of all types are sometimes combined under the general term dysrexia. There are clear subgroups of pathologies:

hyporexia – decreased appetite;
anorexia – when a person has no appetite at all;
hyperrexia – pathological increase in appetite;
bulimia – an extreme version of hyperrexia, uncontrollable gluttony, “voracious appetite”;
pararexia – any perversion of appetite.

Sometimes disorder is confused with its pseudoforms; There is even a special term - pseudodissection. Thus, a very hungry person can “eat like a wolf,” and someone who has had a very heavy breakfast may experience a decrease or lack of appetite at traditional lunch time.

Gluttony and anorexia

Excessive, uncontrolled appetite is colloquially called gluttony. This pathology is characterized by a constant desire to eat and the inability to stop eating food even after the body is full. Gluttony leads to betrayal, obesity and all related problems, often very serious. Gluttony is a disease that needs to be treated!

Lack and loss of appetite (anorexia) these days can develop against the background of a strict diet that involves maximum restriction of calories consumed by a person. The situation is traditional for women and some men who have a “fad” - they consider themselves too plump, even if in fact they are more likely to be thin. The situation gets worse if, considering diet to be an insufficient remedy, a person begins to take medicines(laxatives, diuretics) all with the same goal - to lose weight. And here is the result: the activity of the food center was disrupted - appetite disappeared, the body lost almost all of its fat reserves, and exhaustion set in (not only of the body, but also of the psyche). It all ends with a bunch of serious diseases, and sometimes real starvation. Similar cases were noted several years ago, during the period of “fashion” for super-thin figures of top models, advertised by the American and European media.

With bulimia, many patients find, as it seems to them, the ideal way to “fight” the disease: after eating, they induce vomiting or take powerful laxatives. The logic is simple - from large quantity food can make you gain weight, so you just need to reject it until it is absorbed by the body. Hence the habit of most patients with bulimia to eat alone, arranging real feasts with an incredible number of dishes and subsequent cleansing of the stomach. The danger of this situation is that the person does not consider himself sick (since he does not gain excess weight) and does not resort to medical care. It happens that bulimia is the “other side” of anorexia, developing in a person after a long period complete absence appetite.

What to do if your appetite is impaired or lost?

Any violation of the usual relationship with food - a decrease or absence of appetite, a sudden change in it - is a symptom of the body’s troubles, which requires consulting a doctor! The following can help determine the causes of appetite pathologies and help restore it:

psychotherapist;
nutritionist;
specialist in gastroenterology;
endocrinologist

If you find it difficult to choose which doctor to see, first consult with a therapist or family doctor.