What is the reason for small appetite?

Eating is the main source of various nutrients needed by the body in people's daily life, and it directly affects our physical health. Many people suddenly have a smaller appetite. In fact, this is mostly due to gastrointestinal indigestion or physical illness causing a smaller appetite. It may also be due to a decrease in daily exercise. No matter which situation causes a small appetite, we must develop good living habits.

Reasons for sudden weight loss

Genetics and family history: People with constitutional wasting often have a family history but no pathological manifestations. These people may have family members who are relatively thin, so their bodies tend to be thin.

Economic status and eating habits: Reasons for sudden weight loss, such as whether the calorie intake is sufficient and whether there is enough protein, whether the person is picky or has unusual food habits, whether he has the habit of eating raw fish, shrimp, crab, raw vegetables, or raw beef and mutton. For example, eating raw aquatic plants such as water chestnuts and lotus roots can cause fasciocervical disease, which parasitizes the small intestine and causes diarrhea, digestive dysfunction, and malnutrition; eating raw or undercooked fish, shrimp, crab, etc. can cause infection with Chinese fluke disease, and eating raw stream crabs or tobacco can cause infection with lung fluke disease; eating raw or undercooked beef and pork can cause infection with red worm disease; eating vegetables, fruits, and melons with parasite eggs and drinking unclean water can cause infection with cysticercosis, cysticercosis, ascariasis, etc., all of which can cause weight loss.

Place of Origin and Occupation: In southern China, where there are many paddy fields, farmers or fishermen who repeatedly come into contact with infected water contaminated by schistosome tails may be infected with schistosomiasis; in pastoral areas, contact with cattle and sheep sheds may cause cysticercosis; hookworm disease and ascariasis are more common in rural areas, and severe infection may cause weight loss.

Hyperthyroidism If your appetite has not decreased, but your weight continues to decrease, and if you also have a thick neck or experience palpitations, insomnia, etc., you may be suffering from hyperthyroidism. Experts say that it is not as easy to identify hyperthyroidism in the elderly as in the young. About one-third of patients do not have an enlarged thyroid gland, and their main symptom is becoming increasingly thinner. Cancers such as colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, etc. The early symptoms of cancer are not obvious, but weight loss is definitely one of them. Gastrointestinal surgery experts point out that colorectal cancer, for example, may also be accompanied by painless blood in the stool, so people over 50 years old should be vigilant. Generally speaking, once a tumor is diagnosed, it may be in the late stage. Therefore, if you find yourself losing weight for unknown reasons, or if someone around you says so, you should be alert. "Tumors need nutrients to grow, and they compete with other organs in the body for nutrients, which makes it easy to lose weight."

According to diabetes experts, the early symptoms of diabetes are polyuria, polydipsia, polyphagia, accompanied by emaciation. Experts point out that this is because the patient's body does not have enough insulin and cannot fully utilize the glucose in the blood. The body always needs energy. If it cannot use glucose, it can only consume fat, which causes sudden weight loss. Sudden weight loss due to cirrhosis or ascites can easily be associated with liver problems, but many patients do not seek medical treatment in time due to face concerns or because they are too busy at work. "I saw a patient like this in the outpatient clinic," said the liver disease expert, "He lost more than 10 kilograms in two months, his eyes were obviously sunken, and he always suffered from insomnia. Upon examination, it was found that he had cirrhosis of the liver." Experts pointed out that suffering from liver diseases such as cirrhosis and ascites will inevitably cause the body's anabolism to decrease and consumption metabolism to increase, and the person will lose weight within a few days. Another sign of cirrhosis is weight loss accompanied by fatigue, diarrhea, etc.