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Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy intake, below the level needed to maintain an organism's life. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition.In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage [1] and eventually, death.
Maternal malnutrition can also factor into the poor health or death of a baby. Over 800,000 neonatal deaths have occurred because of deficient growth of the fetus in the mother's womb. [100] Deriving too much of one's diet from a single source, such as eating almost exclusively potato, maize or rice, can cause malnutrition.
The environment of early humans shaped the evolution of ingestive regulatory mechanisms, starvation used to be a greater threat to survival than overeating. [3] Human metabolism evolved to store energy within the body to prevent death from starvation. Today, the environment now has an opposite effect on humans eating behaviors.
Compulsive overeating, or emotional eating, is "the tendency to eat in response to negative emotions". [18] Empirical studies have indicated that anxiety leads to decreased food consumption in people with normal weight and increased food consumption in the obese .
Overeating occurs when an individual consumes more calories in relation to the energy that is expended via physical activity or expelled via excretion, leading to weight gain and often obesity. Overeating is the defining characteristic of binge eating disorder. [1] Overeating can be a symptom of binge eating disorder or bulimia nervosa. [2] [1]
Protein toxicity is the effect of the buildup of protein metabolic waste compounds, like urea, uric acid, ammonia, and creatinine.Protein toxicity has many causes, including urea cycle disorders, genetic mutations, excessive protein intake, and insufficient kidney function, such as chronic kidney disease and acute kidney injury.
Appetite is the desire to eat food items, usually due to hunger. Appealing foods can stimulate appetite even when hunger is absent, although appetite can be greatly reduced by satiety. [1] Appetite exists in all higher life-forms, and serves to regulate adequate energy intake to maintain metabolic needs.
This glossary of biology terms is a list of definitions of fundamental terms and concepts used in biology, the study of life and of living organisms.It is intended as introductory material for novices; for more specific and technical definitions from sub-disciplines and related fields, see Glossary of cell biology, Glossary of genetics, Glossary of evolutionary biology, Glossary of ecology ...