Low Appetite: Many people experience a loss of appetite due to various reasons including anxiety, depression, or even pregnancy at times.
Appetite: Anxiety can suppress hunger
Food is the essential fuel that keeps our body going. However, the way in which the complex human body reacts to food isn't always the same. There are times when we don't feel hungry enough the way we usually do. It's fine if this is a rare instance. But you need to be careful if this loss of appetite continues for quite some time.
There could be various reasons like too much stress, some chronic pain, or some sort of illness that needs your attention and treatment. Because ultimately, if you don't eat properly, it is only going to make you weak. Thus, it can harm you in the longer run. A post on the Instagram page "Nutrition by Lovneet" shared the possible causes behind loss of appetite. Take a look.
Here are the possible reasons behind your reduced or low appetite:
1. Anxiety
When you have anxiety, your fight-or-flight response comes into the picture and it causes the central nervous system to release certain stress hormones. These unwanted stress hormones affect you in many ways including slowing down your digestion, hunger, and appetite.
2. Depression
Depression could be the reason behind your low appetite. This mental health condition triggers your brain to release more corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), a hormone that in turn, makes you less hungry.
3. Stress
Stress also results in reducing your appetite sometimes. It can cause physical symptoms, like nausea and indigestion, that interfere with your appetite or desire to consume food.
4. Illness
Everyone knows that the urge to eat food goes away completely when the body isn't keeping well. When you're sick, your immune system kicks into high gear. It releases chemicals called cytokines that can make you tired and you don't feel like eating anything.
5. Pregnancy
The body undergoes a lot of changes during pregnancy. This condition results in decreasing hunger, a loss of appetite, and possibly even food aversions. Certain pregnancy symptoms, like nausea and heartburn, can make it difficult to sense the true hunger levels. In addition to that, aversions to certain foods can have a negative effect on your appetite.
6. Chronic pain
Chronic pain conditions trouble the body in many ways. Certain conditions negatively affect your physical and mental health and affect your appetite as well.
7. Medications
Sometimes, medications have some potential side effects. And these may affect your urge to feel hungry.
8. Age
One feels very active and energetic at a younger age, however, the system starts slowing down after you get old. It is given that a person's appetite can change with age. As you age, your digestion slows, so you tend to feel fuller for longer.
So, do think about the mentioned parameters if you have been noticing some drastic change in your eating patterns or appetite.
Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.
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