polyphagia
Sign in to saveAlso known as hyperphagia, increased appetite
Polyphagia, or hyperphagia, is an abnormally strong, incessant sensation of hunger or desire to eat often leading to overeating. In contrast to an increase in appetite following exercise, polyphagia does not subside after eating and often leads to rapid intake of excessive quantities of food. Polyphagia is not a disorder by itself; rather, it is a symptom indicating an underlying medical condition. It is frequently a result of abnormal blood glucose levels (both hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia), and, along with polydipsia and polyuria, it is one of the "3 Ps" commonly associated with uncontroll
Key facts
- Medical condition.name
- Polyphagia
- Medical condition.synonyms
- Hyperphagia
- Medical condition.specialty
- Endocrinology, Psychiatry
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
Show 3 more facts
- ICPC 2 ID
- T02
- NCI Thesaurus ID
- C118180
- exact match
- purl.obolibrary.org/obo/HP_0002591
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~3 min read
Article
6 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Underlying conditions and possible causes
- Polyphagia in diabetes
- See also
- References
- External links
Polyphagia, or hyperphagia, is an abnormally strong, incessant sensation of hunger or desire to eat often leading to overeating. In contrast to an increase in appetite following exercise, polyphagia does not subside after eating and often leads to rapid intake of excessive quantities of food. Polyphagia is not a disorder by itself; rather, it is a symptom indicating an underlying medical condition. It is frequently a result of abnormal blood glucose levels (both hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia), and, along with polydipsia and polyuria, it is one of the "3 Ps" commonly associated with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus.
== Etymology == The word polyphagia () uses combining forms of poly- + -phagia, from the Greek words πολύς (polys), "very much" or "many", and φᾰ́γω (phago), "eating" or "devouring".