Poor appetite
This page is reference information compiled from the cited sources. It is not medical advice. For any decision about health, diagnosis or care, consult a qualified professional.
What it is
Anorexia is a medical term for loss of appetite. In this usage it is a symptom, not a diagnosis. The term outside scientific literature is often used interchangeably with anorexia nervosa. Many possible causes exist for loss of appetite, some harmless and some indicating a serious clinical condition or significant risk. Anorexia manifests as decreased or loss of appetite, which can present as not feeling hungry or lacking the desire to eat. Sometimes people do not notice they lack an appetite until they begin to lose weight from eating less. In other cases it can be more noticeable, such as when a person becomes nauseated from just the thought of eating. Any form of decreased appetite that leads to changes in the body, such as weight loss or muscle loss, and is not done intentionally as part of dieting is clinically significant.
Key facts
The term is from Ancient Greek, with components meaning without and appetite. Anorexia also occurs in non human animals, such as cats, dogs, cattle, goats, and sheep, where it may be referred to as inappetence. Appetite stimulation and suppression involves many parts of the brain and body through hormones and signals. Examples of signals or hormones include neuropeptide Y, leptin, ghrelin, insulin, serotonin, and orexins, also called hypocretins. Anything that causes an imbalance of these signals or hormones can lead to the symptom of anorexia. Common causes listed include abdominal pain, cancer, depression, anxiety, infection, fever, nausea, stress, and side effects of drugs. Drugs associated with loss of appetite include stimulants, narcotics, antidepressants, particularly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, Byetta, topiramate, and abrupt stopping of appetite increasing drugs. Poor food intake can lead to dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, anemia, and nutritional deficiencies. These imbalances will worsen the longer that food is avoided. Anorexia can lead to dangerous electrolyte imbalances, acquired long QT syndrome, and sudden cardiac death.
When to seek professional help
The source states that professional care is associated with the situation when a patient begins to eat after prolonged starvation. It says that this is to avoid the potentially fatal complications of refeeding syndrome. It says that the initial signs of refeeding syndrome are minimal, but can rapidly progress to death. It says that the reinitiation of food or oral intake requires close observation under supervision by trained healthcare professionals. It says that this is usually done in a hospital or nutritional rehabilitation center.
Source: Anorexia (symptom) (CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikipedia)), retrieved 2026-10-30.
