Appetite and Hunger

Appetite is an emotional reaction to the stimulus of an empty stomach, and hunger is the physical response. When the stomach is empty, it is shrunken, and the contracted muscles of its wall irritate the nerve endings, causing the sensation of hunger. After eating, the walls of the stomach are stretched and its nerves are soothed so that one is no longer hungry. Any food that is ingested will suffice to destroy hunger because of its mechanical action, but appetite makes some foods more appealing than others. Appetite is also a sensory response to the desire to repeat a previously enjoyed experience. The sight, taste, smell, and even the texture of foods in the mouth are all part of remembered pleasurable experience and sometimes are the stimuli that cause one to eat after hunger is appeased.

Loss of appetite usually accompanies illness. Therefore, the amount and kind of food eaten as well as the amount of vitamins, water and other liquids taken by the patient should be recorded for the doctor. Occasionally, sick people have strong cravings for certain foods or will develop enormous appetite.

Children may have the desire to eat unusual things such as dirt, plaster, paint, hair, or grass. This condition is called Pica. This craving may be a physical response to supply some body deficiency any event, it is a fairly serious abnormality and should always be called to the attention of the doctor.

Continued loss of weight in either adults or children in the absence of dieting is usually a sign that something is wrong. It maybe caused by disease, disordered functions of the internal organs, emotional tension, or an insufficient amount or the wrong kind of food. A definite gain in weight may also indicate a change in the physical condition. Because nearly everyone loses weight in a severe illness, it is of special importance that nourishing foods be provided the ill person to protect the body from too great a weight loss