How hungry is "too hungry"?

Hunger is the body's way of telling a person that it needs food. After eating enough food, hunger usually temporarily goes away.
Sometimes, however, a person may feel as though they are hungry all the time. They may find that they do not feel full after eating, or that the desire to eat continues throughout the day.

A person may be able to reduce their hunger by making dietary or lifestyle changes. However, constant hunger can also be a sign of certain medical conditions that may need treatment.

In this article, we describe 17 possible causes of being hungry all the time.

Many people get hungry during the day if they have not had something to eat in a while. They may be on a schedule to eat and had to skip a meal. Sometimes, people have eaten less during the meal before. So, now they are hungry. Compared to water, you will feel thirsty just by losing 1% of the water in your body.

Food is probably the same. Even if you feel very hungry or starving, you probably are not at risk of getting sick. This usually occurs over a period of time. The symptoms of feeling hungry lasts quite a while before problems set in to your body. Therefore, it would take several days without food before you are in danger of getting sick.