Causes of increased appetite in men. Taming the beastly appetite

Constant overeating leads to only one thing - a distended stomach and excess weight. If the stomach is stretched, then it will be quite difficult to get rid of the habit of eating a lot, because the body requires a sufficient amount of food to be full. Cause of increased appetite not at all due to lack of willpower or intemperance or bad habit eat at night. All this, of course, plays a role, but the real reasons are more serious and it is they that require treatment, and not overeating. What diseases make women eat more than they need at breakfast, lunch and dinner?

Lack of sleep

According to the latest medical data, one of reasons for increased appetite lies in lack of sleep. It is not only the number of hours allocated to sleep that is important, but also the quality of sleep. Sleep should not be restless, abrupt, or superficial. Two hormones are responsible for the feeling of hunger in the body: leptin and ghrelin. Leptin suppresses the feeling of hunger, the second causes beastly appetite. With lack of sleep, the production of “bad” hormone increases and the “good” hormone decreases. For a person who has not had enough sleep, a light snack before lunch with yogurt or fruit is not enough; he needs fatty, carbohydrate, and heavy foods.

How to fight

Needs to be eliminated cause of increased appetite, having taught the body. You need to sleep 8-9 hours a day, with about 6-7 hours of sleep at night. For those young ladies who don’t get enough sleep out of habit, it won’t be difficult to rebuild their body:

2. You need to go to bed early.

3. Don't eat a lot before bed.

At serious disorders sleep will come to the rescue modern drugs from insomnia. But you can try to resort to natural remedies, For example, chamomile tea for the night. During the period of restoration of your “sleepy” mode, it is important to reduce the amount of food consumed. They will help the following techniques decreased appetite:

1. At each meal, you should only put half of your usual amount on your plate. If after half an hour the feeling of hunger does not go away, then you can add a supplement.

2. In the morning and for lunch you need to eat lean meat, which helps reduce appetite.

3. Food should be chewed thoroughly and not swallowed. This helps you stop on time when you feel full.

4. Physical activity will help reduce your appetite. Burning calories also helps normalize sleep. It is best to resort to non-intense, but long-term exercise: running, walking, swimming, cycling.

Stress

Nutritionists have concluded that women who are often exposed to stress are 2 times more susceptible to increased appetite and excess weight. Depression, Howcause of increased appetite, may be associated with excess weight. Dialing excess weight leads to a decrease in physical activity. The woman begins to reproach herself for the next piece of cake she eats. Guilt leads to stress, and stress leads to prolonged depression. Overweight people are often subject to public criticism, which reduces self-esteem. To avoid feeling constantly depressed, overweight women begin to eat more sweets. As you know, sweet foods produce the happiness hormone.

How to fight

You can get rid of extra pounds if you overcome depression. You can resort to the help of a professional psychotherapist, pills, or a combination of several methods. You just need to prepare that treatment may take about six months. After normalizing your appetite, you can start losing weight: sit down and do fitness. Dietary recommendations for women with increased appetite:

1. To overcome addiction to sweets, you need to set aside a certain amount of sweets for yourself. It is advisable to eat one type of sweet product, for example, a spoonful of sugar a day, sweet cheese or cottage cheese.

2. You can completely give up sweets in one day. But the effect will only be if you last for about 1 month. During this time, the body will undergo restructuring.

3. The level of carbohydrate food can be left in the same amount, but only waste the calories received completely. To do this you will have to do training.

Polycystic ovary syndrome

In particular, polycystic ovary syndrome is one of the causes of increased appetite. Due to a number of factors, including heredity, ovarian cells do not respond as well to insulin. As a result, cells do not receive the main nutrient - glucose. The brain receives a signal from the organs that they are hungry. As a result, the woman feels a strong feeling of hunger.

How to fight

Only an examination will help you get rid of increased appetite. When a diagnosis of insulin insensitivity is made, the doctor prescribes treatment. The correct cell response is produced by taking special medications. The course of treatment normalizes appetite. Taking dietary supplements and vitamins will also help solve the problem. You can combine treatment with regular exercise. For polycystic disease, a special diet is recommended, which involves limiting sweets, fatty foods, and including more vegetables and fruits in the diet. The last dinner should be no later than 3-4 hours before bedtime, otherwise hormonal disorders are only getting stronger.

If, for some unknown reason, you suddenly have a truly brutal appetite that cannot be tamed, then this is most likely a sign of illness, warns Dr. William Norcross, clinical professor of community and family medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

There are three diseases that usually lead to the development of insatiable hunger: diabetes mellitus, increase thyroid function and depression. Although increased appetite not the only one symptom of the listed diseases, but this may be the only sign that you noticed yourself.

Maybe you're drinking more water than before and urinating more often? Increased appetite, thirst and increased urination are classic signs of undiagnosed diabetes, says Dr. Norcross. If you have an elevated thyroid gland, you will lose weight, despite an enviable healthy appetite. At the same time, you will experience nervousness and will not tolerate the heat well.

Maybe you have become uninterested in life? Are your friends annoying you? You are missing sexual desire? If so, then you are likely depressed.

Of course, an increase in appetite does not mean there is a 100 percent chance that you are suffering from one of the listed diseases. Some people eat constantly just out of habit and not out of hunger. Dr. Norcross encourages you to check yourself. Do you eat because you are really hungry or just because you like the taste of the food that is offered to you, or maybe you eat to kill time, so to speak, because you have nothing to do.

For many people, the process of eating food is a factor that removes emotional stress, at least temporarily. Sometimes people eat because they are angry, lonely, tired. Such eating habits may be the result of a disturbance in the rhythm of eating. True, they may also be their cause.

What to do. If you are hungry all the time and eat for this reason, then you need to see a doctor who will find out if you have diabetes or an overactive thyroid gland, advises Dr. Norcross. If it really turns out to be one of these diseases, then appetite will normalize as soon as proper treatment of diabetes or thyrotoxicosis begins.

IN treatment of any form of diabetes mellitus Exercise and diet take pride of place. Sometimes insulin injections or tablets are required to treat diabetes: tablets and insulin are prescribed to help blood sugar return to normal levels. You can choose a diet that contains large quantities of complex carbohydrates and fiber and as little fat as possible, especially saturated fat. This diet is recommended by Dr. Julian Whitaker, director Institute of Health in Huntington Beach, California.

If in diet contains a lot of fat, it interferes with the sugar-lowering effect of insulin. Thus, the blood sugar level starts to rise, which is where all the diabetic problems arise. Carbohydrates do not have such a blocking effect on the action of insulin. Fiber contributes to a calmer course of diabetes, as it slows down the absorption of food and thus prevents an increase in the need for insulin, which is already lacking in diabetes.

Many types of food containing increased amount carbohydrates, usually rich in fiber, include: wheat, fresh fruits and vegetables, rice, beans, corn and lentils. You should avoid eating foods made from fatty red meats, cheese, whole milk, mayonnaise, egg yolks, fatty salad dressings, and fried foods.

It is very important to exercise regularly. Dr. Whitaker's clinic recommends walking, jogging, cycling and swimming for patients. Research has shown that physical activity helps better absorption glucose and reduce the need for diabetics for insulin, improving its use by the body.

Treatment for increased thyroid function includes the prescription of special medications; sometimes you have to resort to surgery removal of part of the thyroid gland or destruction of part of its tissue by radioactive iodine.

If you have developed increased appetite due to depression or disorders eating behavior, then you need to see a doctor, suggests Dr. Norcross. To treat depression, you will probably be recommended to undergo a course of psychotherapy, which is very useful for this condition. Sometimes a course of antidepressant medications is prescribed. Eating disorders such as bulimia, or, in simple terms, gluttony, are sometimes treated by psychotherapists.

But what you should never do to curb your appetite is take pills that suppress it, warns Dr. Norcross. These pills, whether sold over the counter or prescribed by a doctor, have whole bouquet unpleasant side effects: increased blood pressure, disorders in the central nervous system and even the development of psychosis. One of the reasons for side effects is the presence in tablets active substance, called phenylpropanolamine (PPA), which suppresses the activity of the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that controls appetite.

The whole problem with increased appetite is that increased calorie intake to satisfy an out-of-control appetite leads to obesity because the wrong foods are used to fill you up, says Dr. Norcross. “Throw away high-calorie foods to satisfy your gluttony use fresh fruits and vegetables. Dr. Norcross also recommends exercising to curb hunger pangs: "Exercising, even for a short time, suppresses your appetite."

Associated symptoms. If your appetite is so out of control that you have to drink laxatives and give yourself enemas after the holidays of gluttony, then you have an eating disorder, known called bulimia, you should consult a doctor about this. Sometimes, in order to break the vicious circle (eating food - enema - laxatives), in especially severe cases of bulimia, patients have to be hospitalized.

If your child an absolutely brutal appetite, but despite this, he cannot gain weight or is even losing weight, then perhaps he has some kind of serious illness, one of them is cystic fibrosis (hereditary disease, affecting the pancreas). This disease manifests itself respiratory disorders due to lung damage and digestive disorders. Treatment consists of prescribing a high-calorie diet, rich in proteins and, if possible, as low-fat as possible. Before each meal, the child should swallow granules containing digestive enzymes pancreas.

Increased appetite

Increased appetite is a sign that is characterized by excessive food consumption and can be a manifestation of both certain diseases and excessive physical exertion, some physiological changes in the body. Also, increased appetite cannot be ruled out due to some psychological problems - depression, severe stress, fear of dying from exhaustion. Increases appetite and taking certain medications.

Only a qualified doctor can establish the root cause of increased appetite in a child or adult, using the necessary laboratory and instrumental research methods. Self-medication and ignoring symptoms are unacceptable.

Etiology

Both external and internal factors can provoke the manifestation of such a symptom. External etiological factors include the following diseases:

  • gastroenterological pathologies;
  • problems with thyroid gland;
  • hormonal disorders;
  • diabetes mellitus;
  • bulimia;
  • autoimmune diseases;
  • malignant tumors;
  • helminthic infestations - in this case, despite excessive appetite, the person will sharply lose weight;
  • avitaminosis;
  • impaired metabolism.

TO external factors which can also trigger this clinical manifestation, should include:

  • menopause;
  • during early pregnancy, but not an exception and late dates bearing a child;
  • before menstruation and during ovulation;
  • chronic stress, depression, constant nervous tension;
  • physical or psychological fatigue, chronic fatigue syndrome is no exception;
  • dehydration;
  • taking certain medications that cause hunger.

Increased appetite in older people may be due to memory problems, decreased concentration and diseases that are characterized by mental retardation. In this case, this will be due to the fact that the person simply forgets that he recently ate and against this background he may feel hungry.

Increased appetite during the postpartum period is due to the following:

  • habit of eating more food during pregnancy;
  • breast-feeding;
  • features of the daily routine - frequent lack of sleep, constant tension, chronic fatigue.

Increased appetite in a child is often due to the following etiological factors:

  • individual characteristics of the body;
  • accelerated growth phase;
  • puberty;
  • recovery period after acute infectious diseases;
  • brain tumor in the hypothalamic region (this area is responsible for the feeling of hunger);
  • taking steroid drugs.

A qualified doctor can determine why a child or adult’s appetite increases through an appropriate examination. Based on this, it should be said that self-medication is unacceptable and can lead to the development of serious complications, including irreversible pathological processes.

Symptoms

General clinical picture with increased appetite, no, since this is a clinical manifestation of a certain illness, and not a separate pathological process.

With excess thyroid hormones, increased appetite will be accompanied by the following clinical picture:

In addition, women may experience changes in the menstrual cycle, and men may have problems with potency and a decrease in libido.

Paradoxically, increased appetite can also be observed with gastritis, however, in this case, we are not talking about all forms of this gastroenterological disease.

Increased appetite with gastritis can be caused by uncontrolled secretion of gastric juice, the syndrome of “hunger pains”. In this case, the following clinical picture will be present:

  • pain with gastritis can be localized in the pit of the stomach, which radiates to the back, but other localization of the unpleasant sensation is also possible;
  • hunger pains – a person will feel severe discomfort when long absence food in the stomach;
  • change in bowel movements – may be present long-term constipation or, on the contrary, severe bouts of diarrhea;
  • nausea, sometimes with vomiting. This symptom most often appears after eating fatty, heavy foods;
  • heartburn, belching unpleasant smell or air, depending on the form and severity of the disease;
  • increased flatulence, rumbling in the stomach;
  • a feeling of fullness in the stomach, regardless of the amount of food consumed.

Increased appetite, accompanied by weight loss, is a clear sign helminthic infestations in the body, which will be characterized by the following clinical picture:

  • paroxysmal abdominal pain;
  • increased salivation;
  • frequent attacks of nausea and vomiting;
  • constipation alternates with bouts of diarrhea. IN stool undigested food particles and third-party organisms may be present;
  • almost constant feeling of fatigue, drowsiness;
  • itching in the anus;
  • pale skin;
  • low-grade fever, in some cases high body temperature.

Increased and even uncontrollable appetite can be present with neurosis, severe stress, and bulimia. In this case, the clinical picture will be characterized as follows:

  • a person eats almost all the time, with the exception of sleep;
  • high-calorie foods begin to predominate in the patient’s diet;
  • isolation, depression;
  • in the background overconsumption When eating food, nausea and vomiting may occur, however, even after such reactions of the body, the person does not stop eating;
  • the patient can swallow food without chewing;
  • there are no restrictions on taste preferences;
  • Bouts of overeating are especially intense at night.

It goes without saying that such a diet has an extremely negative effect on the condition digestive system and leads not only to obesity, but also to other diseases cardiovascular system, pancreas, musculoskeletal system.

Increased appetite can be a manifestation of cancer, in particular stomach cancer. In this case, the following clinic will be present:

  • despite increased appetite, a person sharply loses weight;
  • feeling of fullness and distension in the stomach;
  • lack of pleasure from satiety;
  • aversion to certain foods, which was not the case before;
  • dull, pressing pain in the stomach area;
  • change in the act of defecation - diarrhea is replaced by prolonged constipation;
  • weakness, lethargy;
  • increased body temperature;
  • general malaise, irritability.

It should be noted that a similar clinical picture may be present in other gastroenterological diseases, and the nature of the pain is almost identical peptic ulcer stomach, therefore, you need to contact a doctor who will conduct an examination and establish an accurate diagnosis.

Appetite increases in people with a brain tumor, namely with the tumor localized in the hypothalamic region, which will be accompanied by the following clinical picture:

  • headache and dizziness;
  • frequent attacks of nausea, which are rarely accompanied by vomiting;
  • disorders psychological nature- decreased cognitive skills, sudden mood swings, previously unusual behavior, aggression;
  • visual and auditory hallucinations;
  • speech disorder;
  • change in taste preferences.

As the tumor grows, other areas of the brain will be affected, causing the development of related symptoms.

Excessive food consumption can be dictated by psychological problems (not to be confused with mental disorders). As a rule, in such cases there are no additional symptoms. In this way, a person can “seize” depression, nervous tension and personal problems, including fear. However, you need to understand that the presence of such a factor can lead to gastroenterological diseases and chronic overeating.

Increased appetite before menstruation and during early pregnancy may be a consequence of natural physiological changes in the body and does not pose a threat to life, but this does not mean that food consumption may be uncontrolled. The same applies to excessive amounts of food consumed during menopause or menopause, that is, a period of natural changes in the female body.

Diagnostics

Initially, the doctor conducts a physical examination of the patient, collecting a general history and the patient’s lifestyle in general. To clarify the diagnosis, the following laboratory and instrumental research methods can be used:

  • general analysis of urine and blood;
  • expanded biochemical analysis blood;
  • blood sampling for the presence of tumor markers;
  • blood test for hormones;
  • Ultrasound of the thyroid gland;
  • Ultrasound of the abdominal organs;
  • FGDS;
  • CT, MRI of the abdominal organs.

The exact examination program is determined individually, depending on the current clinical picture and the history collected during the initial examination.

Treatment

The course of treatment will depend on the identified underlying cause, since its elimination will lead to the normalization of the patient’s appetite.

In some cases, in addition to drug treatment and a mandatory diet (as with gastritis and other gastroenterological and oncological pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract), a course of psychotherapy is required.

If uncontrolled appetite is diagnosed in pregnant women or children, then drug therapy is minimized, as this can harm the child’s body in both cases.

Excessive appetite during menstruation, in most cases, does not require special treatment. A woman may be advised to make adjustments to her diet and increase physical activity.

Prevention

In this case there are no targeted preventive measures. In general, you should follow a healthy diet and consult a doctor if you feel unwell, rather than therapeutic measures at your own discretion.

“Increased appetite” is observed in diseases:

Withdrawal syndrome is a complex of various disorders (most often mental) that arise against the background of a sharp cessation of the intake of alcoholic beverages, drugs or nicotine into the body after prolonged consumption. The main factor that causes this disorder is the body’s attempt to independently achieve the state that it had during the active use of a particular substance.

Hebephrenia (syn. hebephrenic schizophrenia) is a fairly rare genetically determined disease associated with personality disintegration. Lack of treatment and psychotherapeutic assistance is fraught with the development serious consequences not only for the patient, but also for his relatives.

Gigantism is a disease that progresses due to increased production of growth hormone by the pituitary gland (endocrine gland). This causes rapid growth of the limbs and torso. In addition, patients often experience decreased sexual function and developmental inhibition. If gigantism progresses, there is a high probability that the person will be infertile.

Hyperglycemia – pathological condition, progressing due to an increase in the concentration of glucose in the bloodstream against the background of diseases of the endocrine system, including diabetes mellitus. Normal indicators blood sugar – from 3.3 to 5.5 mmol/l. With glycemia, the indicators increase to 6–7 mmol/l. The ICD-10 code is R73.9.

Hypomania (mood disorder) – affective disorder, which is characterized by an initial degree of mania and almost complete absence clinical picture characteristic of a psychiatric disease.

Hypomenorrhea (syn. scanty periods) is a violation of the menstrual cycle when a small amount of bloody fluid is released from the genital tract (less than 50 milliliters). Pathology can be either primary or secondary.

Hypothalamic syndrome is a set of disorders, the occurrence of which is caused by dysfunction of the hypothalamus. The disease often develops in adolescence and reproductive age. It occurs several times more often among representatives of the fairer sex than among men. Problem of this disorder is that it is quite common, in most cases affects young people, develops quickly and has many complications.

Dysthymia or minor depression – depressive disorder chronic type, which occurs with insignificant symptoms and is long-lasting and protracted. People who progress with this pathology have pessimistic views on life, and they are also skeptical about the positive emotions that other individuals may experience. It is worth noting that, according to another definition, this disease means chronic depression, the symptoms of which are practically not manifested.

Among autoimmune diseases, one of the most common is diffuse toxic goiter or Graves-Basedow disease. It negatively affects a number of organs, including the nervous system, as well as the heart. The disease is characterized by an increase in the size of the thyroid gland with a persistent increase in the production of thyroid hormones (thyrotoxicosis).

Insulinoma is a neoplasm that often has a benign course and forms in the pancreas. The tumor has hormonal activity - it secretes insulin in large quantities. This causes the development of hypoglycemia.

Lipodystrophy is a fairly rare disease in which a person completely lacks adipose tissue, necessary for every organism, since it takes part in many metabolic processes. This disease differs from ordinary dystrophy in that there is no loss of body weight, and the victim does not look exhausted.

Metabolic syndrome is a pathological condition that includes several diseases, namely diabetes, coronary heart disease, hypertension and obesity. This disease mainly affects men and people over 35 years of age, but recently the number of children with a similar diagnosis has increased. The main provocateurs of this state are considered to be sedentary lifestyle life, unhealthy diet, nervous stress, as well as changes in hormonal levels.

Uterine cancer - malignancy from endometrial cells, i.e., tissues lining the organ. It is considered one of the most common forms of oncology. It is more often diagnosed in women over 60 years of age, and occurs in isolated cases at a young age.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is an insulin-dependent type of the disease and has quite specific reasons occurrence. It most often affects young people under thirty-five years of age. The main source of this disease is genetic predisposition, however, experts in the field of endocrinology also identify other predisposing factors.

Diabetes mellitus in men is a disease of the endocrine system, against the background of which there is a violation of the exchange of fluids and carbohydrates in the human body. This leads to dysfunction of the pancreas, which is responsible for the production important hormone- insulin, as a result of which sugar is not converted into glucose and accumulates in the blood.

Cyclothymia is a mental affective disorder, which is a type of manic-depressive psychosis, and is characterized by alternating periods of emotional arousal and depressed state. Unlike manic-depressive psychosis, with cyclothymia mood swings are less pronounced, and the main feature of the disorder is periodicity. Thus, with a pathology such as cyclothymia, either periods of euphoria or depression can be repeated, but an alternating change of periods is also observed.

With the help physical exercise and abstinence, most people can do without medicine.

Pathologically increased appetite in humans

The human body needs a regular supply of nutrients which he draws from food. As soon as the amount of nutrients begins to decrease, a person experiences a feeling of hunger, and then, thanks to the brain receptors, the appetite “wakes up”. Excitement of appetite can be caused by the beautiful sight and smell of food.

In a healthy person, appetite control is carried out by the hypothalamus, which is located in the brain and sends hunger and satiety impulses.

During the period of increased growth of the body in childhood or adolescence, there is a physiological increase in appetite. After a serious illness, during the period of recovery of the body, after prolonged physical exertion, prolonged fasting or past infections, appetite also increases.

When the function of the hypothalamus is impaired, saturation impulses are blocked, and the person experiences constant feeling hunger. In cases where a malfunction occurs in the functional system of the brain, when the hypothalamus ceases to regulate the amount of food taken, we can speak of a pathologically increased appetite.

With increased appetite (polyphagia), patients do not feel full and feel a constant need for food. A pathologically increased appetite in a person may appear due to a lack of serotonin, one of the biochemical substances of the brain. Patients with a lack of serotonin experience a need for carbohydrate foods.

Excessive appetite is popularly called gluttony. Gluttony leads to serious problems organism, often arising against this background. In an obese body, they suffer blood vessels, heart, joints and even the genital area. Mental dependence on food appears. Over time, gluttony becomes part of the habit of eating huge amounts of food. Quitting smoking can also be accompanied by excessive eating. Having given up nicotine, a person finds pleasure in excessive consumption of food.

Increased appetite in women may depend on hormone levels in menstrual period, during pregnancy and lactation, during menopause.

Pathologically increased appetite can be observed when mental disorders ah, diseases of the nervous system, endocrinological system, some diseases gastrointestinal tract.

With diseases of the nervous system and some types of mental disorders, patients experience excruciating hunger - “ravenous appetite”, called bulimia. Bulimia occurs in attacks and is often accompanied by general weakness body, pain in the epigastric region. Bulimia often leads to obesity.

With such a pathology of appetite, patients try to control their weight by cleansing the stomach with emetics and laxatives. Cleansing the stomach in a similar way, as well as labile nervous system, lack of willpower, can lead to serious complications physical and mental health. Patients need the help of a psychiatrist or psychotherapist.

Bulimia can develop when increased content insulin in the blood. This occurs with endocrinological disorders in the body. We are talking about diabetes. There are two types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes develops primarily in childhood and young adulthood. Occurs against a background of chronically elevated blood sugar levels. In this case, the pancreas does not secrete the required amount of insulin. Patients suffering from this disease are insulin dependent (daily insulin injections are required). Along with other symptoms of this disease (thirst, weakness, frequent urination, weight loss), there is a significant increase in appetite.

Type 2 diabetes – endocrine disease, in which the sensitivity of body cells to insulin is reduced. This condition is called "insulin resistance." The pancreas produces insulin, but it cannot interact with the body's cells and does not absorb glucose. With type 2 diabetes, in addition to thirst, frequent urination, diabetes, weakness, there is an increase in appetite and an increase in body weight (obesity). In some cases of type 2 diabetes, weight loss may occur.

When eating disorders occur, there is an insufficient supply of nutrients to the human blood. The reason may be either a lack of them in food, or a disruption in the functioning of enzymes responsible for the absorption of nutrients in the body. Poor nutrition and dehydration also lead to a pathological increase in appetite.

One of the reasons for increased appetite is lack of sleep. Two hormones are responsible for the feeling of hunger in the body: leptin and ghrelin. Ghrelin causes a brutal appetite, leptin suppresses it. Lack of sleep increases ghrelin production and decreases leptin production

A serious pathology is the situation when increased appetite is accompanied by loss of body weight.

Similar symptoms appear:

With thyrotoxicosis - a disease resulting from increased function of the thyroid gland, as a result of which the amount of thyroid hormones in the blood increases;

Diffuse toxic goiter;

Weight loss combined with increased appetite occurs when food is malabsorbed. Leukemia, lymphoma and lymphogranulosis can also be accompanied by a decrease in body weight with increased appetite.

Increased appetite. Causes

Appetite, translated from Latin, means “desire,” and in a physiological sense is a feeling associated with the need for food. During prolonged hunger, the human body usually experiences serious stress, dangerous in its consequences.

Increased appetite, the causes of which can be different, is a widespread phenomenon. This is due to diseases or various changes occurring in the body. An increase in appetite is often observed during active growth of the body (that is, in children). The main reasons for increased appetite are:

changes in psychogenic properties;

inflammatory lesions of the brain stem;

Why is increased appetite dangerous? The reasons presented above often lead to obesity. This is especially true for middle-aged people. Increased appetite, which may be caused by stress, is also common. A person seems to “eat up” his problems with a huge amount of food, which is why his weight gradually increases. Most advanced doctors and nutritionists believe that increased appetite, the causes of which lie in stress, is a defense mechanism of the body.

The problem of overeating can arise for other reasons. Increased appetite in children is a phenomenon that has not been fully studied. Doctors and psychologists have established through various experiments and analyzes that heredity in this case plays an important role. Parents who are prone to obesity give birth to children whose risk of developing increased appetite increases by 80%. Even the food traditions in such families are radically different. People who are prone to obesity eat a lot at any time of the day, and their threshold for feeling full is significantly raised.

Increased appetite in children may also be associated with temperament. If a child is sedentary and does not cause unnecessary trouble to parents, this is not yet a reason to rejoice. Most likely, such a child will have unused nutritional reserves, which will invariably turn into fat deposits.

Very often, the cause of high appetite is the love of sweets. As you know, all children love sweets and flour dishes, but if you give them them daily, the child will gain weight. It is advisable to change your diet and add more fruits and vegetables to the menu.

Just like adults, a child's mental balance can be upset. This leads to increased appetite. In a state of apathy, the child is inactive and practically does not take part in outdoor games. Gradually, his peers begin to laugh at such a child, and he finds solace in food.

Modern medicine always protects people's health. If a problem with increased appetite is detected, you should consult a doctor who will conduct the necessary examination, identify the causes and prescribe appropriate treatment.

Appetite disturbance

Appetite is a mechanism that forces the human body to consume food when the amount of nutrients begins to decrease. There are types of appetite disturbance or dysrexia, such as decrease, increase, and the appearance of taste perversions. The reasons are difficult to immediately determine, because... Most diseases have this symptom, their treatment should be the main one.

Physiological features

The appearance of a feeling of hunger, or, conversely, satiety is due to active work food center The food center consists of several united formations at different levels of the central nervous system. The process of eating, i.e. that same feeling of satiety and hunger arises as a result of the work of two centers in the hypothalamus.

Neurons of the hunger center can respond to a decrease in blood sugar levels, amino acids, fatty acids, triacylglycerols, or a decrease in body temperature. When a feeling of appetite, on the contrary, occurs when the body is oversaturated with insulin and oxytocin.

Normally, when the saturation center is activated, impulses to the hunger center are restrained and do not arrive, and its activity decreases. The satiety center responds to a sufficient amount of serotonin in the blood. Therefore, happy people may not feel hungry. Their level of this hormone increases and the saturation center is actively working. With depression and stress, the level of serotonin drops, and no matter how much food is supplied, there is no signal from the satiety center and the person constantly feels hungry.

Loss of appetite does not occur for no reason. Therefore, the main treatment is focused on the underlying disease (neuroses, diabetes, anemia, etc.).

When the main treatment is prescribed, the diet can be adjusted based on the form and type of dysrexia. If you need to increase your body weight, you can visit a nutritionist who will create a special menu. High-calorie mixtures that are sold for both internal use, and for intravenous administration.

When body weight is higher than the required norm, this negatively affects the functioning of organs and systems, it needs to be reduced, so it is selected special treatment. For this there are special low calorie diets, medications, which reduce appetite and slow down the rate of absorption of nutrients in the intestines. Increased appetite can be relieved by certain medications that cause a feeling of fullness in the stomach by stretching it.

All types of dysrexia are treated differently. At oncological diseases The fight is carried out primarily against the tumor. Chemotherapy, laser therapy, etc. are prescribed.

In people with obesity (with a constant increase in appetite), the stomach is increased in size, sometimes two or three times. And often such patients choose surgical method, i.e. reduction in stomach size surgically. Such treatment practically does not give results, because... the main causes of obesity have not been cured and a person psychologically cannot refuse food, the organ stretches again, it’s just a matter of time. It is effective only if the diet is adjusted and the patient adheres to it not only at first, but always.

Few people immediately pay attention to eating disorders. Treatment usually begins when other symptoms appear. But it may be the first sign of pathology. Therefore, it is important to regularly monitor your health and pay attention to the signals that the body gives during imbalances. But there is no need to panic, because... The reasons for lack of appetite are varied, for example, fever.

The video will show you what preventive measures will help overcome hunger.

What hunger is is familiar to almost everyone, and it’s not a lack of food, but an increased appetite, which for some reason increases, especially in certain periods of life, for example, in the off-season or before applying another diet for weight loss. Of course, in most cases, an increase in appetite is dictated by psychological reasons, but we should not forget about the physiological disorders of the body that manifest themselves in initial stage exactly like that.

Psychological reasons for increased appetite


Let's remember what sensations food gives us. This is, first of all, the pleasure that every person experiences from the taste of chocolate or a piece of fried meat, as well as from the satiety that spreads in pleasant waves throughout the body. Let's remember why we need food - just to maintain vital functions and obtain the necessary energy for life. At what period does the need for food begin to go beyond the established norms? And why is this happening?

As a rule, increased appetite is observed in women during the period stressful situation, or banal fatigue. The body doesn't have enough positive emotions and pleasure, which is why many women, without even realizing it, increase the level of endorphins through food, which becomes, let’s say, a means of obtaining pleasant emotions.

However, such a substitute is a temporary measure, which in the near future becomes the cause of another problem - excess weight. Then you have to deal with extra pounds and, as a consequence, the use of various diets, which become another reason for increasing appetite and being in a stressful situation, but at a physiological level.

Nature has so decreed that, regardless of age and state of health, a woman is, first of all, expectant mother, and the body, just in case, should always have reserves of vitamins and other useful substances which may be needed to carry a baby. As soon as a woman limits her diet, the body immediately sends a distress signal and actively begins to accumulate necessary substances, which actually causes an increase in appetite. Thus, using a diet only makes the situation worse.

That is why, when your appetite increases, you should first analyze the situation and try to understand what makes the body express itself in this way; besides, food can be replaced with other pleasant emotions that will be no less useful, for example, a walk on the fresh air or buying something new. By the way, while trying on the next dress or trousers, almost every woman will forget about hunger and will only remember beauty and the desire to look attractive.

Physiological reasons for increased appetite in women


However, psychological problems do not always become cause of increased appetite, in some cases, hunger occurs against the background of hormonal imbalance, for example, in the period before menstruation or during pregnancy or breastfeeding. It is changes in a woman’s hormonal background that force the body to look for additional reserves for recovery in an additional source of energy and vitamins. Therefore in similar situation It is advisable to simply adjust your diet and eat more vegetables and fruits, which will suppress your appetite and will not bring harm, but rather, on the contrary, will only bring benefit.

Another reason for increased appetite may be disorders of the thyroid gland, which in the future can lead to diabetes. But in such a situation, a woman will experience other symptoms, for example, increased sweating, weakness and headaches, skin irritations and extreme thirst. That is why, observing all these symptoms in combination, it is advisable to immediately consult a doctor, and not eat the supposed stress with another candy or cutlet.

Women should also remember that the reason for increased appetite can be banal permissiveness, that is, when it is already possible to buy everything you want, unlike the hungry student days. In such a situation, do not forget that a beautiful wrapper and a decent price for a product do not guarantee its benefits, so it is best to drink first in case of increased appetite

Contents of the article:

Increased appetite is a constant desire to eat a particular product in certain moment. Please note that, as a rule, this feeling is not necessarily accompanied by a feeling of true hunger. More precisely, we are not talking about the kind of hunger that indicates the need to replenish energy reserves, but about gustatory hunger - when you want to eat something specific, but the body will be able to exist without it normally. Thus, increased appetite in most cases should be perceived as a problem not so much of a physiological, but of a psychological nature. However, there are situations when this problem is caused by one or another disease.

Why does women have increased appetite?

Excessive appetite as a situational phenomenon, by and large, is not a problem. In this case we are talking about an extra portion of very delicious salad at a party or a beautiful dessert at a party, and in general about behavior festive table when everything looks so appetizing that we devour dish after dish, not paying attention to the fact that the feeling of hunger has long disappeared. But, one way or another, holidays do not happen every day, so if you allow yourself to obey not hunger, but appetite only according to special occasions, nothing bad will happen.

But if a person faces such a problem every day, many problems already arise here - from excess weight to the development of certain diseases against its background.

Why do some people have a healthy appetite, while others have an excessive one? There can be many reasons, let's look at the main ones:

  • Wrong attitude towards food formed in childhood. Not every child happily eats all those dishes and in the quantities dictated by pediatric standards. If the child’s development indicators, despite the fact that he is a small child, are satisfactory, there is no point in pressing him, but mothers, and especially grandmothers, find it difficult to resist the temptation to stuff their beloved child, promising various rewards for the fact that the proper amount of food will be eaten. Unfortunately, this is a case where caring leads to problems in the future. A mechanism is fixed in the child’s head: ate - good, mom is happy, didn’t eat - bad, mom is upset. And, as you know, children's installations are the most powerful. They are stored in the subconscious of an adult, forcing him to eat more than required every day. And, in fact, this is one of the most serious reasons increased appetite, which usually requires psychiatric intervention.
  • Lack of sleep. Insufficient quantity sleep is closely related to increased appetite: the fact is that with constant lack of sleep, the balance of hormones that are responsible for the feeling of satiety is disrupted. For a healthy balance, it is important to sleep at least 8 hours a day every day - this is not so easy in modern realities, but you must try to at least get closer to this figure if it itself is unattainable.
  • Insufficient physical activity. How much time you spend exercising also has a strong influence on your desire to eat. And here again we are talking about hormones; during physical activity, the production of substances that stimulate hunger is inhibited.
  • Psychological problems. Increased appetite in women is quite often a consequence of their significant emotionality. Representatives of the fairer sex are more prone to worry than men. Accordingly, if there are certain problems, in order to forget about them and relax, ladies turn to certain sources of pleasure - delicious food, as a rule, is the closest.
  • Insufficient employment. Such a banal reason for increased appetite as idleness has also not been canceled. Think about whether your job and pastime in general are too boring if you constantly dream about food.
  • You don't drink much. A person should drink an average of 1.5-2 liters daily (the exact figure depends on weight) clean water. However, not everyone does this. As a result, thirst signals are perceived as hunger signals. So before you eat something, try drinking a glass of water, maybe the desire will pass.
  • Pregnancy. At this time, many women experience increased appetite, but in this situation it is most important to distinguish between hunger and appetite. You need to eat for two, not for two - this phrase means that the expectant mother should give the body more vitamins and other nutrients, and not double the portions of desserts and fried potatoes. So if you are in a position and want to eat, first of all ask yourself the question - what do you want to eat. If sweetness or harmfulness is, of course, signs of increased appetite associated with hormonal changes, and you should not give in to such impulses.
  • Premenstrual syndrome. Again, due to hormonal imbalances, many women complain of increased appetite before menstruation. Moreover, the interaction of various hormones during PMS days is so complex that even scientists still cannot agree on a specific reason why signs of increased appetite appear during this period. Some say that it is stimulated by progesterone, some claim that before menstruation the metabolism accelerates, and therefore you want to eat more often, and some are generally inclined to believe that the reason lies in the fact that the body is still “believes” that a woman will become pregnant and begins to store nutrients for the child. However, be that as it may, the fact remains that during PMS appetite is almost always increased.
  • You don't eat enough. The most trivial reason increased appetite lies in the fact that you simply do not eat enough. Since today there is a certain cult of slimness, representatives of the fair half of humanity, especially young girls, often simply do not eat enough for the sake of fashion, and therefore complain that they are hungry all the time. If you are afraid of gaining weight, but also do not want to suffer from hunger, calculate your calorie needs according to physical activity during the day using a special formula. Then pick up approximate diet nutrition corresponding to this calorie content, and do not deviate from the received figure in one direction or the other, then your weight will remain the same.
  • Other reasons. Finally, it is worth saying that increased appetite can be caused by other reasons related to certain health problems - gastroenterological pathologies, thyroid diseases, hormonal imbalances, diabetes mellitus, oncology, metabolic disorders, etc. In this case, it is very important to find this reason and move on to its proper elimination.

The main signs of increased appetite in a woman


However, before moving on to eliminating the problem of excessive appetite, you need to understand whether you are really dealing with this problem or whether you are confusing it with hunger due to an excessive concern for being thin. Let's look at the main symptoms of increased appetite.

In fact, if increased appetite is not associated with a disease, there is only one sign to recognize it. You need to ask yourself whether you are hungry or not. This test will help you answer it correctly. Think about it: do you need to eat something specific or are you ready to satisfy your hunger with any edible dish? In the first case, we are talking about taste hunger - that is, appetite, in the second - about real hunger.

If, using this simple test, you realize that you are hungry, then you should just eat. If it becomes clear that you suffer from increased appetite, then carefully evaluate the possible accompanying symptoms. Since the range of diseases leading to increased appetite is very wide, ranging from metabolic disorders to cancer, it is even possible to determine an approximate framework possible signs quite difficult.

For example, if problems with the thyroid gland lead to increased appetite, the picture will be complemented high pressure, hand tremors, chest pain, etc. If you have gastritis, an excessive desire to eat may be accompanied by abdominal pain radiating to the back and gastrointestinal disturbances of various types.

One way or another, you must remember a simple rule. If increased appetite does not go along with other unpleasant symptoms, most likely, its cause is not caused by illness. If you notice other warning signs, do not hesitate to go to the doctor.

Features of reducing increased appetite in women


Ways to reduce appetite are determined, as you probably already guessed, by the root cause of the excess desire to eat. If they are associated with a disease, then the main task is to treat this very disease. We will not consider this issue in detail; a qualified doctor will be able to identify the cause and prescribe competent therapy. After treatment, the increased appetite will disappear.

Another reason for excessive appetite, which is not associated with a physiological disease, but requires contacting a specialist, is an incorrect attitude towards food formed in childhood. In this case, you will need to work with a psychologist or even a psychotherapist. In many cases, specialists resort to hypnosis.

For other reasons, you can and should try to fight increased appetite on your own. The following measures will help suppress the constant desire to eat:

  1. Make life richer. Have you noticed that when the day is full of events, you think about food much less often and often only in the evening you realize that you just had breakfast? A busy life is one of the most the right ways cope with increased appetite.
  2. Drink a glass of water. If you actually wanted to drink and not eat, this will help, and, as we said above, such confusion often arises.
  3. Call your friend. If your increased appetite is caused by the fact that you are upset about something, do not rush to run to the refrigerator - share your worries with someone, this method of reducing stress is no less effective than a couple of shares of chocolate.
  4. Reduce portions. Doctors recommend eating more often, but in smaller portions, and for those who are constantly drawn to the refrigerator, this is great news. Reduce your portions and allow yourself extra-curricular outings, and then your increased appetite will not have too much of an impact on your waist size.
  5. Use spices. There are foods that can suppress your appetite - for example, you can eat a sprig of fresh dill or chew fennel or cumin seeds. And if you really want something sweet, smell a cinnamon stick or vanilla, and the desire will disappear.
  6. Play some sports. Physical activity not only will they help cope with the already existing consequences of increased appetite, but will also discourage the desire to eat. As we mentioned in the first section of the article, during physical activity hormones are produced that suppress appetite. And, frankly speaking, it is not even necessary to play sports; simple cleaning of the house or a pleasant walk is also physical activity.
  7. Set up a regime. If you are constantly lacking sleep, try to adjust your routine at least a little, give up pointless climbing social networks and other nonsense and you will definitely have a free 30 minutes, or even an hour. Ideally, 8 hours of sleep is necessary to balance the hormones that are responsible for the feeling of fullness.
  8. Avoid Sugar. Sugar today is found not only in sweets, but also in products in which you would not expect to find it, for example, in crab sticks or a can of canned beans. And the problem is not only that it contributes to weight gain, but also that it stimulates the appetite. The more sugar you eat, the more you crave it. However, it is worth remembering that we are talking specifically about white refined sugar; natural sugar, found, for example, in bananas or honey, does not cause such an effect.
  9. Include foods with high content fiber. They not only improve digestion, but also give you a feeling of fullness for a long time. Large quantity fiber is found in all vegetables and fruits, as well as grains.
  10. Eat slowly. The saturation signal reaches the brain within 20 minutes. Imagine how much you can “throw” into yourself during this time. Calmly and slowly eat your portion and wait a while, perhaps your appetite will disappear.
As you can see, there are quite a few ways to get rid of an annoying appetite, if its cause does not lie in a serious physiological or psychological deviation, the main thing is desire. If nothing helps, you can resort to special medications that reduce appetite. However, you should never resort to them without consulting a doctor, since each drug has contraindications.

How to reduce your appetite - watch the video:


Increased appetite is a problem that needs to be addressed. It can be caused by innocent reasons such as ordinary boredom or lack of physical activity, or it can be a symptom of a serious illness. Having identified the reason constant desire is, it is necessary to immediately address it. Otherwise, there is a risk of gaining excess weight, which over time will lead to the development of certain diseases.

Why, despite the abundance of means to preserve your figure, is their effectiveness in reality so low? The thing is that all these drugs and devices are designed to eliminate not the cause, but the effect.

Many people believe that main reason the presence of extra pounds is a factor of increased appetite, and therefore they try to deceive the body by any means, which are not always effective.

What is appetite?

Appetite is a pleasant sensation associated with the need for food, as well as a physiological mechanism that regulates the supply of nutrients to the body. That is, the concept of appetite consists of two aspects - physiological and psychological. Appetite is vitally important, because without it it is simply impossible to fully regulate the body's intake of valuable substances contained in food products. Therefore, first of all, you need to determine what the causes of unhealthy appetite are, and only then draw conclusions and look for effective methods of combating it.

Possible reasons for increased appetite:

  1. Hormonal imbalance.
  2. Thyroid gland dysfunction.
  3. Diseases of the digestive system.
  4. Depression, apathy.
  5. Nervous exhaustion.
  6. Overwork.
  7. Psychological shock.
  8. Stress.
  9. Poor nutrition.
  10. Dehydration.
  11. Lack of sleep.
  12. Most often, an unhealthy appetite appears in a person as a consequence of emotional discomfort. In this case, a person eats not because he is hungry, but because he experiences anxiety, irritation, restlessness, resentment, disappointment, and even boredom. There is such a concept - a person “eats” stress, sorrows and problems.

Main reasons for increased appetite- disturbances in the process of carbohydrate metabolism. They are the main cause of excess weight and obesity. In these cases, we are drawn to foods that contain a large amount of carbohydrates. And this is bread, pizza, pies, white flour pasta, potatoes, rice, sweets, soft drinks with high content Sahara. In this case, the concentration of glucose in the blood actively rises. And insulin is released into the blood, because the body needs to bring the level back to normal and it releases insulin in excess, for this reason the glucose level decreases significantly. Due to the active decrease in glucose concentration, the brain again receives a signal that it is necessary to eat food. As a result, we have a vicious circle and serious disturbances in carbohydrate metabolism.

The reason for the brutal appetite is hyperinsulinism (excess insulin in the body).

What happens when the metabolic process is disrupted? First of all, an excessively large amount of calories accumulates, and insulin promotes the production of fat, but its breakdown is blocked. This is the reason for the increase in body weight.

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Carbon dioxide improves mood and improves appetite!

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What are the reasons for a brutal appetite?

What are the reasons for a brutal appetite?

1. PMS. Right now, my unhealthy appetite is explained by the imminent onset of those very days. Only every woman has a time of increased appetite during PMS time miscellaneous. For me this happens 2-3 weeks before the X date. For some, in a few days. This phenomenon is associated with hormonal surges that occur in women at this time.
2. Metabolic disorders. Most often, it is disruptions in carbohydrate metabolism that lead to increased appetite. As a rule, with such disorders, people are drawn to bad carbohydrates.
Potatoes, pasta, baked goods, sweets, soda water, etc. - pests of a slim figure. People with metabolic disorders suffer from obesity and excess weight.
3. Stress. During difficult times life situations, we begin to eat our problems with food. This happened to me several times. I bought ice cream, chocolate and sat and ate it all in front of the TV. This is due to the fact that the body does not receive happiness hormones, trying to fill them with sweets.
Thank God it didn’t become a habit for me. During times of stress, I would rather not eat than eat all the bad stuff on both cheeks.
4. Significant physical activity. If you noticed, people who constantly exercise eat a lot and do not gain weight. The body spends a lot of energy on exercise and requires it to be replenished in greater quantities than during normal activity.
When I was dancing professionally, I ate for two, but I was as thin as a matchstick. Many people thought that I didn’t eat enough, but that was a big misconception.
5. When you quit smoking. Many people say that this is a myth invented by man. But from the experience of friends, quitting smoking really contributes to gluttony. Many people gain several kilograms when they quit smoking.
6. Gluttony. Appetite is always present, because a person simply loves to eat and eat a lot. Why so many? Because the stomach tends to stretch. The more you eat, the more you want. As you know, big people eat a lot.

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By relieving muscle tension, physical and intellectual stress, massage and diet improve performance.

What to do with a brutal appetite?

What to do with a brutal appetite?

I strongly advise you not to think about appetite suppressants; you will get nothing but harm to your health from them. Don't get it wrong, increased appetite- this is a consequence of some problem. Not the problem itself. And you need to work not with the investigation, but with the problem. Although, of course, at first glance, what you most want to do is get rid of the consequence - appetite. But believe from experience, when the problem is solved, the symptoms disappear.

Nutrition is critically important in your life and you should approach it wisely and intelligently. There are two options, either the problem disappears by itself during proper nutrition thanks to which it is normalized hormonal background. Either through direct psychological work with eating disorders, which also gives very good result upon settling down increased appetite.