Starvation
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A female child during the Nigerian-Biafran war of the late 1960s, shown suffering the effects of severe hunger and malnutrition. |
Starvation is a severe reduction in
vitamin,
nutrient, and
energy intake, and is the most extreme form of
malnutrition. In
humans, prolonged starvation (in excess of 1-2 months) causes permanent
organ damage and will eventually result in
death.
According to the of the
United Nations, more than 25,000 people die of starvation every day, more than 800 million people are chronically undernourished. On average, every five seconds a child dies from starvation.
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4084676.stm]Starved individuals lose substantial
fat and
muscle mass as the body breaks down these tissues for energy. Catabolysis is the process (medical condition) of a body breaking down the muscles and other tissues in a body in order to keep vital processes such as nervous system and heart muscle working. Catabolysis will not begin until there are no usable sources of energy coming into the body. Catabolysis will break down muscle tissue before it breaks down fat.
Vitamin deficiency is common, often resulting in
anemia,
beriberi,
pellagra, and
scurvy. These diseases collectively may cause
diarrhea,
skin rashes,
edema, and
heart failure. Individuals are often
irritable,
fatigued, and
lethargic as a result.
Physical
*Decreased resting
metabolic rate (RMR)
*Drop in
sex hormones
*Decreased sexual interest
*
Amenorrhoea (no menses)
*
Lanugo (growth of insulating hair)
*Bone loss
*
Constipation and gastrointestinal upset
*
Sleep disorder*
Muscle weakness*
Hypothermia*Loss of lean body mass
*Changes in brain chemistry regulating appetite and food cravings
Behavioral
*Preoccupation with food - collecting recipes
*Unusual eating habits
*Increased consumption of fluids
*Increased use of spices
*Loss of the body's natural mechanisms for regulating hunger and fullness
*Less pickiness about tastes
*
Binge eatingCognitive
*Decreased concentration
*Poor judgment
*
ApathyEmotional and social
*
Depression*
Anxiety*[Sandy behavior]
*
Lability (constantly changing moods)
*Psychotic episodes
*Personality changes
*Social withdrawal
Starvation is usually treated by slowly increasing food intake until no nutrient deficiencies remain. By this time, the diet of a recovering individual should consist of 5,000
calories and twice the
Recommended Dietary Allowance of nutrients. Starvation is a result of malnutrition.
Starvation has always been a means to carry a death sentence. From the beginning of civilization through to the Middle Ages people were
immured and starved to death.
In ancient Greco-Roman societies, starvation was sometimes use to dispose of guilty upper class citizens, especially erring female members of patrician families. For instance, in the year
31,
Livilla, niece and daughter-in-law of
Tiberius, was discreetly starved to death by her mother for her adulterous relationship with
Sejanus and for her complicity in the murder of her own husband,
Drusus the Younger.
Another daughter-in-law of Tiberius, named
Agrippina the Elder (a granddaughter of
Augustus and the mother of
Caligula) also died of starvation, in
33 (however, it is not clear if she voluntary starved herself to death or if she was forced to).
A son and a daughter of this Agrippina were also executed by starvation for political reasons:
Drusus Caesar, her second son, was put in prison in 33 and starved to death on the orders of Tiberius (he managed to stay alive for nine more days by chewing the stuffing of his bed); Agrippina's younger daughter, called
Julia Livilla, was exiled on an island in
41 by her uncle, the emperor
Claudius, and not much later, her death by starvation was arranged by the empress
Messalina.
Execution by starvation was also a possible punishment for
Vestal Virgins found guilty of breaking their vows.
Rajmund Kolbe, a Polish friar, offered his life to save another inmate sentenced to death in the
Auschwitz concentration camp. He was starved along with another nine inmates. After two weeks of starvation he and three other inmates were still alive and executed with injections of
phenol.
Ugolino della Gherardesca, his sons and other members of his family were immured in the
Muda, a tower of
Pisa, and starved to death in the
thirteenth century.
Dante, his contemporary, wrote about Gherardesca in his masterpiece
The Divine Comedy.
In
Cornwall in
1671, there is a recorded case of a man by the name of
John Trehenban from
St Columb Major who was condemned to be starved to death in a cage at
Castle An Dinas for the murder of two girls.
*
Anorexia*
Cachexia*
Dehydration*
Famine*
Famine response*
Famine scales*
Fasting*
Hunger*
Malnutrition*
Kwashiorkor*
Marasmus*
Muzulman*
Hunger strike*
Starvation - Merck Manual*
FAO - Understanding food insecurity*
FAO - What the new figures on hunger mean*
Meds and Food For Kids Stop malnutrition in Haiti before it takes another life.
