Starvation

The fact of having had very little or no food.

Involuntary absence of feeding.

Condition resulting from lack of essential nutrients over a prolonged period and characterized by weight loss, widespread physiologic and metabolic disturbances, and increased susceptibility to infection.

Suffering extremely or dying of a lack of food. Starvation occurs primarily during famine conditions in developing countries. However, the eating disorder anorexia nervosa and prolonged malabsorption of nutrients due to intestinal diseases, cancer, infections such as HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), or abdominal surgery can also lead to starvation and wasting. Weight loss and fatigue are common symptoms. Starvation may also be accompanied by iron-deficiency anemia, vitamin Bl2-deficiency anemia, vitamin D deficiency, and ketosis (an abnormal accumulation of ketones in the body caused by a deficiency or inefficient use of carbohydrates). In individuals in whom there is an underlying cause, treatment requires addressing that health problem.

A condition that results from a prolonged lack of food. The person suffers weight loss and changes in the body’s metabolism, with production of potentially harmful chemicals called ketones and acetone. Sometimes starvation may occur as a result of an eating disorder. In cases of slow starvation, the vitality of the tissues is reduced and they become more liable to tuberculosis and other diseases.

he condition of being without food for a long period of time. When everything but air and water is withheld, the sequence of events is as follows: (1) hunger, beginning about 4 hr after the last meal, accompanied by gastric contraction and general restlessness, becoming more acute periodically, especially at times when meals were customarily taken; (2) utilization of glycogen stored in the liver and muscles; (3) utilization of stored fat; (4) loss of weight;(5) spells of nausea and diminishing acuteness of the sensation of hunger; (6) destruction of body protein. The greatest loss of weight is in the fatty tissues, spleen, and liver.