Starvation

Starvation is a condition when the body is not receiving the caloric intake it needs to sustain the human body. Prolonged starvation can cause organ disruption, damage, and even failure, and if it goes on for longer it can lead to death. On average, Humans can survive roughly two months without food before dying, with women on average surviving longer than men. The group most susceptible to starvation are people in poverty and especially children, who will grow up with chronic illness and deficiencies. Starvation will occur in a population when there are limited access to a food such as a Famine caused by a drought and crop failure or due to mismanagement of foodstuff, which can also be done purposefully.

Causes

Starvation is caused by the body expending more energy than it takes in, starvation can be caused by two main reasons; medical and circumstantial. Specific medical reasons could be caused by eating disorders, being in a coma, a variety of digestive illness, and depression. Circumstantial reasons may include neglect, usually child neglect, fasting, poverty causing one to not be able to buy food, torture, or famine.

Symptoms

Symptoms can range depending on the stage, often they start as mental symptoms early on such as: irritable mood, trouble concentrating, fatigue, and thinking about food. Later when the situation gets more serious symptoms may include: weakness, fast heart rate, thirst, glassy eyes, muscle wasting, and in children, a swollen belly. After a month there may be a severally weaken immune system, hair loss, slow healing, and rashes.

Treatment

To treat starvation, one must eat small quantities of simple foods, or else the body will reject the food and the patient may die from over exerting themselves. They will also need to be kept warm to maintain a high body temperature and they need to rest.

Prognosis

During the first stage the liver starts to break down sugars to be used as energy, this stage begins when a person stops eating a few meals. In the second stage, the body begins to break down fat reserves stored in the body, depending on the size of the person and the amount of fatty tissue they have, this can take up to several weeks. By the third stage, when the body has ran out of fat reserves, it moves on to proteins to break down for energy, such proteins are often pulled from muscles and organs, which quickly leads to muscle atrophy and organ problems and failure. People usually die from infections at this stage due to the body's inability to fight off diseases such as bacteria and viruses.

Affected Groups

People living in poverty or food insecure areas are more prone to suffering from starvation, and the group who is most affected in the long term are children, as starvation for a long period of time can lead to malnutrition, growth stunts, chronic health issues among other problems.

Prevention

To prevent starvation the obvious course of action is to consume enough calories and have enough of the required nutrients. To prevent famines and food insecurity you need to provide aid and prevent poverty, prevent wars, agricultural stability, prevent wars, and have a stable civil and political sound region.

History

Starvation has always existed in the world due to how life works. In humans, starvation has played a major role in cultures, shaping the way people store and eat food, prevent famines, and when it finally comes to it, what is and isn't okay to eat. Throughout history, humans have migrated for a variety of reasons, but access to food has played a major role in the history of migrations. After the first of The Forgotten, close to half of all people who had knowledge on agriculture and other forms of food production ceased to remember how to perform those skills, along with advanced farming equipment no longer working, brought on the worst famine in human history, with most areas suffering anywhere from 60% to 90% of the population dying, with a majority of the deaths being attributed to starvation.

Cultural Reception

Due to the nature of starvation, most people feel guilty and want to help those in need. However, it is a powerful force and many have used it to put others down, most often by exporting as much food as possible to a wider market to starve out an undesired population. In many cultures, especially in ones who have suffered severe famines or face them on a semi regular basis, tend to create folklore around famine and starvation, often in the form of a skinny humanoid who often brings bad luck and the harbinger of an upcoming famine.

Type

Physiological

Origin

Natural

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Common