Polyphagia (medicine)
| Classification according to ICD-10 | |
|---|---|
| R63.2 | Polyphagia |
| ICD-10 online (WHO version 2019) | |
As polyphagia (from ancient Greek πολύ poly "a lot" and φαγεῖν phagein "eat"; literally "healthy appetite") is referred to in medicine a pathologically increased appetite or pathologically increased food intake. The increased food intake can be organic as well as psychological.
Psychological causes are on the one hand addiction mechanisms (see eating addiction ), in animals also an oversupply of food or feed envy.
A number of diseases can be considered as organic causes. A polyphagia with weight gain is at a number of hormonal imbalances ( adrenal hyperfunction , abnormally increased insulin levels , low sex hormone levels to castration ) and as a side effect of certain drugs ( glucocorticoids , anabolic steroids , anticonvulsants and beta-blockers can be observed). A polyphagia without weight gain is with hyperthyroidism , diabetes mellitus of nutrients in the gut (and impaired absorption malabsorption , exocrine pancreatic insufficiency , parasitic diseases , inflammatory bowel disease , tumors observed).