The Absence of Appetite

Here are screenshots of all of the sources I have used throughout this blog.

I have argued how "The Absence of Appetite" and absent foods are an entirely negative concept in a variety of ways throughout this blog - from giving up foods at Lent and Ramadan, to not eating due to a mental disorder, to having no choice over not eating by being stricken with grief or by not being able to afford food, to lastly not eating due to dieting. Whilst I have taken into consideration that abstaining food temporarily can bring about positivity, being connected to an individual's God and by being healthier, I fundamentally believe that restricting food is ultimately sad and that we should relish it instead, as when we starve we tend to get upset and angry (as evidenced in the tweets), we tend to lose weight drastically (through Anorexia and dieting fads) and we tend to lose control and the memory of someone (eating when grieving).

For my last blog post I will revert back to discussions on the voluntary giving up of foods, this time through a topic which I have a personal connection to. From a early age I was educated profusely on the importance of maintaining a healthy diet and keeping fit, which meant being preferably thin. As someone who trained for five years as a track and field athlete I was constantly reminded by my coach on what foods I should eat and how regularly I should exercise. Fast forward a few years and going onto Instagram I am bombarded with sponsored ads of diet pills and even diet gummy bears and skinny teas which are designed to help you lose weight fast. It seems like dieting and its various discussions in day-to-day life and in the media have followed me throughout my life and are everywhere I look. Whilst remaining healthy and restricting certain fatty and sugary foods in order to attain weight control is in my eyes an entirely positive way to live (to a certain degree - it's ok...

Varadaraja V Raman argues in "Food: Its Many Aspects In Science, Religion, and Culture" that the "Absence of food can occur under two conditions: voluntary and involuntary" (969), the latter being what I will explore in this post to its extremity through the focus on poverty and not being able to afford foods to ensure survival, let alone to enjoy. Although "The Absence of Appetite" cannot specifically be applied to this post, as those suffering in poverty certainly have an appetite for food, I will still explore absent food and its many manifestations, including absent food under the rubric of deceit and how those in poverty often fall victim to unfortunate crimes of Adulteration. Sharman Apt Russell states a staggering statistic in Hunger: An Unnatural History, that "About 800 million chronically malnourished people live in the world" (207). Although the poverty rate has improved significantly in the UK over the last ten years and food ba...

In my previous posts I looked at how people consciously give up food, whether this be for positive or entirely negative reasons, I explored specifically that food is missing from a person's life as they choose for it to be absent, both temporarily and permanently. But what happens when a person does not choose to stop eating? When they feel so distressed that eating becomes difficult and neglected? When they feel so overwhelmed that eating stops being important to them and they somewhat forget to eat? This is sadly a common occurrence when someone is grieving, particularly to those who have lost a significant person in their life like a mother or father. Talking to my mother about the unexpected passing away of my grandma, almost ten years ago now, she told me that eating was difficult during this time. She felt so numb that eating was not a major concern to her personally and she barely ate for a couple of weeks whilst she took care of her ...

In my previous post I looked at how Religion and practices within faiths restrict certain foods being eaten by its followers, often at specific times - such as meats at Lent and food and water in the day during the month of Ramadan. Although I argued that these voluntary sacrifices have more negative than positive consequences, as hunger can lead to conflicting emotions and can have an awful impact on the way a person functions, I also took into consideration that many people sacrifice foods in order to feel connected to their God, which can of course make the person feel grateful, satisfied, joyous and ultimately peaceful in achieving self-control. In this post I will explore how hunger within a person's eating disorder, specifically Anorexia Nervosa, has no positive outcomes at all as it impacts not only their own life in the most disastrous of ways but also their families, sometimes even resulting in the death of the person who suffers w...