The loss of appetite during depression with melancholia: a qualitative and quantitative analysis

The loss of appetite occurring severe depression was investigated with an experimental method comparing the eating behaviour of 12 melancholic inpatients to 12 matched normal controls. Food intake and appetite, divided into more basic components such as desire to eat, hunger, satiety, prospective food consumption and pleasure from eating, were monitored during a test meal. Patients ate less than controls, but the difference was not significant. The pattern resulting from the temporal tracking of the appetite ratings indicated that patients were disturbed at the beginning of the meal and showed a decreased desire to eat, hunger and prospective food consumption and an increased satiety and that their pleasure from eating was diminished. These findings suggest that the loss of appetite induced by melancholia follows a specific pattern.