Appetite (from Latin appetitus - desire, desire) is a periodically arising desire to consume certain foods or substances.
Content
The role of appetite
A healthy appetite is one of the most powerful regulators of the body’s development, and at the same time a stimulus for food intake.
When the body needs food, blood sugar levels drop. In response to this decrease, active gastric juice is produced in the stomach.
In children, this mechanism is disrupted in almost every ailment. In this case, disorders such as
- loss of appetite,
- increased appetite,
- perversion of appetite.
Poor appetite
Often, a child’s lack of appetite is a protective reaction of the body.
In acute illnesses against the background of high temperature in the first days, appetite usually decreases sharply and the child refuses to eat. But as his condition improves, he recovers after a few days.
You should not force-feed your child, as this will only strengthen his negative attitude towards food, may cause vomiting, and in some cases aggravate the disease.
In long-term chronic diseases, appetite decreases gradually, but restoring it can be a problem. The reason for this may be intoxication of the body and a sedentary lifestyle.
Taking certain medications and eating disorders can also lead to decreased appetite in a child.
Long-term lack of appetite may be accompanied by a decrease in body weight.
In any case, a long-term decrease in appetite in a child cannot be ignored. The reasons for this can be varied and it is necessary to consult a doctor to establish a diagnosis.
The main list of diseases that reduce appetite:
- secretory gastric insufficiency;
- acute gastritis;
- stenosis (narrowing) of the pylorus;
- depression or exhaustion of the nervous system;
- infectious diseases;
- food poisoning;
- tuberculosis;
- tumors of various localizations.
Anorexia is a pathological decrease in appetite up to complete refusal of food. Requires immediate medical attention and hospitalization.
Increased appetite
In this case, we can make an assumption about
- stomach ulcer,
- duodenal ulcer,
- chronic gastroduodenitis in the acute stage,
- some psychoneurological diseases that are accompanied by activation of metabolic processes in the body.
Perversion of appetite
The cause is often a lack of free acid in the gastric juice. At the same time, patients begin to eat chalk, coal, earth, and can drink kerosene.
The desire to eat chalk and lime may appear when there is a lack of calcium in the blood and tissues, which is necessary for the body. Its deficiency occurs with a monotonous diet, insufficient consumption of milk, cottage cheese and other foods rich in calcium, and worsens with diarrhea, gallbladder dyskinesia, and chronic pancreatitis.
What foods contain calcium?
Calcium salts are contained in significant quantities
- in buckwheat and oatmeal,
- beans,
- peas.
It is best absorbed from milk, fermented milk products, cheeses, chicken eggs, and white cabbage.
If a varied diet and walks in the fresh air do not eliminate calcium deficiency, then calcium supplements with vitamin D are prescribed.
However, sometimes an addiction to chalk is simply a bad habit. This is harmful because chalk and lime can cause dysfunction of the stomach and intestines and contribute to constipation.
If there is a prolonged perversion of appetite in a child, it must be shown to a neuropsychiatrist.
Treatment
Increasing appetite is based on the inclusion in food of substances that irritate the taste buds of the tongue. These remedies can be plants with a spicy and bitter taste - cumin, mint, ginger, cloves, vanilla, pepper, mustard, horseradish, onion, garlic. These same spices prepare the stomach for food intake.
Read about folk remedies for increasing a child’s appetite in this article .
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