HEALTH CONSEQUENCES OF STARVATION

Health Consequences of Starvation



Health Consequences of Starvation

Introduction

It is a sad reflection that at the start of the 21st century, starvation still exists, often with such catastrophic loss of life that it can be measured in millions. Indeed, 'food security' has become an industry and 'humanitarian assistance' the vocation of a burgeoning number of organizations who do nothing else.

Starvation and Its Health Consequences

Starvation is the deprivation of any or all of the elements necessary for their nutrition. The cells of the various organ systems require a continuous supply of energy to function. The biochemical mechanisms that maintain the constant availability of fuel to support metabolic functioning are part of a complex system of fuel homeostasis. The temperature of the body drops during starvation. A large spectrum of emotional and physiological problems occurs under such conditions. Mostly, obese people show signs and symptoms of starvation to accompany their low basal metabolism such as hunger, cravings for ice cream and pastries, depression and lethargy and inability to store body fat in favor of lean tissue.

Following are the possible consequences in the human body as a result of starvation which have been gathered in recent times by many researchers:

Appetite Regulation

There is no single hormonal neuropeptide that controls hunger in a starving human. Prolonged starvation causes exaggerated hunger, a psychosomatic state that dominates the conscious mind. Insulin plays a vital role in the regulation of appetite. Acting together with leptin, insulin circulates at concentrations proportional to the body fat content. Both hormones enter the CNS and bind to specific receptors in neurons involved in controlling food intake. The administration of leptin and insulin directly to the hypothalamus decreases appetite and suppresses food intake. It is probable that leptin is more important of the two hormones since leptin deficiency results in obesity. The mechanism by which these hormones influence the CNS is the subject of intensive study. It should be clear that during starvation, as the mass of adipose tissue decreases and the secretion of insulin by the pancreas are depressed due to a lack of food intake, the appetite centers of the brain would be stimulated by the lack of satiety signals such as leptin, insulin, and ghrelin.

Urinary Nitrogen Excretion

Daily urinary excretion undergoes an asymptotic, progressive decrease during starvation. Humans that consume a diet with 100 g protein (16.0 g nitrogen) excrete 15.5 g of nitrogen in the urine. Most ...