Dorothy FarrarLoss of appetite
Loss of appetite describes a reduced or completely absent feeling of hunger. A brief feeling of not wanting to eat is probably familiar to all of us and is a completely normal phenomenon. However, a prolonged lack of appetite can have many different physical or psychological causes. In order to rule out serious underlying diseases, a doctor should be consulted if there is persistent loss of appetite.
What is loss of appetite?
What exactly is loss of appetite? A short-term and occasional loss of appetite is a normal reaction, which can be triggered by various causes. Maybe the food doesn’t taste good or evokes disgust.
Mental causes can also be responsible for a short-term lack of appetite. Stress or lovesickness are the most common triggers for a short-term loss of appetite. However, if it is a long-lasting lack of appetite, serious physical or deeper mental illnesses can be responsible.
Loss of appetite can manifest itself as a simple reluctance to eat up to complete refusal to eat. A prolonged loss of appetite should always be clarified by a doctor.
Causes
What are the causes of loss of appetite? Loss of appetite can have many physical and psychological causes. It can be both a symptom of various diseases and a sign of the onset of diseases.Psychological causes can be stress, problems in family or partnership or even depression. This also includes anorexia, bulimia or a general lack of appetite or food refusal in older people.
When it comes to physical illnesses, gastrointestinal diseases are the most common cause of loss of appetite. The causative diseases can range from a slight stomach upset to irritable stomach, gastritis or ulcers, to cancer of the stomach or intestines.
Other diseases, for example various heart diseases , diabetes, thyroid diseases or kidney failure can also be responsible for a lack of appetite. Furthermore, neurological diseases such as dementia are possible causes. Addiction disorders and various medications also sometimes trigger loss of appetite.
Diseases
When to the doctor?
Loss of appetite can be quite normal, especially in unusual situations, and is not in itself a reason to see a doctor. However, if the loss of appetite persists for a long period of time or if there is an unusually large amount of weight loss, it is advisable to see a doctor to find out the causes of the loss of appetite.
It can also make sense to consult a doctor if other symptoms such as abdominal pain, fever, fatigue, vomiting or general malaise accompany the loss of appetite, since in this case serious health causes should also be ruled out. A doctor can find the origin of the disease by asking various questions about the symptoms, current lifestyle, and possible underlying medical conditions, followed by physical examinations.
With the help of the results, the doctor can make a diagnosis and, if necessary, recommend a visit to a specialist, for example a psychologist or a gastroenterologist.
If no cause can be found at first, loss of appetite is often treated with medication to prevent weight loss and weakening of the body.
Diagnosis and course
The course of a loss of appetite and the diagnosis of its causes can vary from case to case. In addition to a thorough physical examination and blood and urine tests, further information is extremely important for the diagnosis. This includes questions about possible previous illnesses, the duration of the loss of appetite, the intake of medication or a possible weight loss. Any existing psychological causes can also be diagnosed using a wide range of questions. As soon as a specific cause is suspected, further medical or psychological examinations follow. These vary depending on the suspected cause of the loss of appetite.
A brief loss of appetite is normal and usually not a cause for concern. However, if the lack of appetite lasts longer, a doctor should always be consulted so that an accurate diagnosis can be made. In addition to the lack of appetite, there are often other symptoms that can give further indications of the cause.
Complications
Loss of appetite is a common symptom, most commonly associated with the common cold . However, it can also occur as a result of a wide range of other diseases and even as a side effect of medication. When loss of appetite occurs, it is most often when patients need to eat to strengthen themselves and aid healing. Serious complications such as weight loss , malnutrition and malnutritiononly occur if there is a long-lasting loss of appetite. This form can be observed, for example, in cancer patients undergoing treatment when their cancer therapy affects their appetite. In addition to the physical causes of the loss of appetite, there are also emotional triggers that can also lead to complications.
Stress, mental stress caused by events in everyday life, but also mental illnesses such as eating disorders lead to a loss of appetite and ultimately to not eating enough. This in turn results in weight loss and, depending on the composition of the food still consumed, possibly in deficiency symptoms. Even if these were treated per se, they would always return until the cause of the loss of appetite was addressed. The length of time before anorexia leads to complications depends on the age and general health of the patient. If you are well fed and only experience sporadic loss of appetite, you will probably be able to cope with it without difficulty – a child or older person who suffers from it for a long time is more likely to feel it.
Treatment and therapy
What treatment options are there? The treatment of loss of appetite always depends on the cause. If psychological causes are responsible for the lack of appetite, psychotherapy can be helpful. If the loss of appetite occurs due to a gastrointestinal disease , medication is usually used for therapy.
But switching to a balanced diet that is easy on the stomach and avoiding alcohol and nicotine are also important factors in overcoming the loss of appetite. If cancer is the cause, surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy can be used to treat it.In principle, an attempt should be made to normalize eating behavior again. This also includes planning enough time for the preparation of the food and the meal.
It may be useful to seek the help of a nutritionist or psychotherapist. In addition, various appetite-stimulating drugs can help to stimulate the appetite again and thus counteract the loss of appetite.
Outlook and prognosis
A temporary loss of appetite is in most cases without risk and sets in again after treatment of the causes or a change in the circumstances that caused it. However, if the deficiency persists, a doctor should be consulted who can make the diagnosis and prognosis relatively quickly using typical procedures.
In most cases, the loss of appetite has a harmless cause (e.g. an upset stomach) and can be treated well and quickly with appropriate therapeutic measures. If, on the other hand, the lack of appetite is due to a serious illness, this must first be treated. In addition, there are sometimes side effects that can delay recovery. The prognosis depends, among other things, on how severe these accompanying symptoms and loss of appetite are and how severely restricted the patient is in everyday life.
In the case of psychological causes, successful psychotherapy often already promises a positive prognosis, but if the cause is cancer, the course can only be predicted with difficulty due to the various influencing factors. In general, however, loss of appetite is relatively unproblematic and can usually be treated without long-term consequences after diagnosis by a doctor.
Prevention
Are there preventive measures against loss of appetite? If the loss of appetite occurs as a side effect of a causative disease, it is difficult if not impossible to prevent a loss of appetite. In general, however, a balanced, healthy and regular diet and sufficient exercise are good precautionary measures against a lack of appetite. Avoiding stress can also prevent a loss of appetite.
Hello and welcome to my Health Guide & Encyclopedia! My name is Dorothy Farrar, and I'm the founder and main author of this platform.
My passion for health and wellness started at a young age when I became interested in the connection between the food we eat and the way we feel. This fascination led me to study nutrition and dietetics in college, where I learned about the importance of a balanced diet and the impact of various nutrients on the body.