A loss of appetite is generally a signal of an underlying disease or medical condition. There are several causes of loss of appetite, some ranging from a minor illness to a severe problem that needs medical intervention. Other symptoms may accompany loss of appetite such as vomiting, weight loss and dizziness. If you have no appetite and you can not pinpoint a cause, you may want to discuss symptoms further with your doctor.
Depression
Depression is a serious mental illness that affects both children and adults. If you experience thoughts of sadness from time to time, these thoughts generally go away after a few days. When you have depression, feelings of sadness and helplessness continue for weeks or months. Some of the main symptoms of depression are negative thoughts, thoughts of suicide, irritability, inability to focus, over sleeping, hopelessness, weight loss and loss of appetite. The symptoms of depression may interfere with your day to day tasks including taking care of yourself and interacting with family and peers. Your loss of appetite can cause you to miss out on vital nutrients essential to health. Helpguide.org explains that any type of weight loss that includes a change of more than 5 percent of your total weight should be brought to the attention of your doctor.
Viral Gastroenteritis
Most people have experienced a case of the stomach flu. The stomach flu is also referred to as viral gastroenteritis. Viral gastroenteritis is caused by a virus and affects the intestinal wall and the stomach. Because many different viruses, bacteria, illness and parasites can cause similar symptoms to viral gastroenteritis, it can be difficult to diagnose. Aside of a loss of appetite, other symptoms may include watery diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping, headache, fever and general malaise. Symptoms of gastroenteritis pass once the virus has run its course; this can take up to 10 days, explains the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is important to stay hydrated, even if you have a loss of appetite -- this will prevent dehydration.
Anorexia Nervosa
An overall loss of appetite and not wanting to eat can be referred to as anorexia or anorexia nervosa. Anorexia is a type of eating disorder in which you are unable to maintain a healthy body weight within 15 percent of your normal weight range, explains the National Alliance of Mental Illness. One of main symptoms of anorexia is a loss of appetite. With anorexia, you may have a distorted body image where you think you are heavier or have more body fat than you actually do. Anorexia can have deadly consequences because the lack of appetite leads to weight loss that quickly depletes the body of vital electrloytes and fluids. This can lead to dehydration and eventually organ damage if not treated promptly by medical intervention.
Pregnancy
When you become pregnant, your body produces new hormones to help support your pregnancy. Pregnancy leads to several changes in your body -- including an array of new symptoms -- especially during the first trimester. One of these symptoms, lack of appetite, may also be combined with nausea, vomiting and a slight weight loss. A lack of appetite is normal during the first few weeks and months of pregnancy and is generally caused by the nausea. Eating a bland diet, drinking plenty of fluids and making sure that you eat when taking pre-natal vitamins may help improve your appetite.
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