I. ТЕКСТЫ ДЛЯ АНАЛИТИЧЕСКОГО ЧТЕНИЯ

I. ТЕКСТЫ ДЛЯ АНАЛИТИЧЕСКОГО ЧТЕНИЯ

LACK OF APPETITE

One of the most frequent complaints mothers make to doctors is that their child has lost his appetite. The mother’s anxiety over her child‘s poor appetite is well-founded, as every mother knows that a healthy appetite is a sign of the child’s health. Lack of appetite is associated with many illnesses of childhood, but then there are also other signs which mother usually notices. If the cause is some illness the doctor will diagnose it and prescribe treatment, and the child’s appetite will improve as his health improves. However, feeding problems mostly arise in perfectly healthy children as the result of mismanagement of nutrition, feeding and care.

To understand the causes leading to loss of appetite one must understand the nature of appetite itself. To-day it has been proved by the experiments of Ivan Pavlov and his followers that digestion is regulated by the nervous system. There is in the child’s brain, as in the adult’s brain, a food centre the condition of which determines whether the individual feels hungry or full. If the food centre is in an excited state the person feels hungry. If the food centre is in a state of repression, or inhibition, the desire for food – the appetite - will deteriorate or disappear. Both excitation and inhibition of the food centre are associated with changes in the constituents of the blood flowing in this area of the brain. Depletion of the blood of nutritive substances stimulates the digestive centres; this stimulation or excitation is transmitted to the salivary glands and the glands secreting gastric juices, and also to the corresponding muscles.

It is important to feed children at definite times over strictly definite intervals differing in children of different ages. If a definite feeding schedule is not observed and the baby has his food irregularly, he will not be hungry and refuse his food at the feeding hours. A particularly harmful effect on appetite is produced by sugar and various sweets when given to children before or between meals. An important point in serving the meals of older children is setting the table. If mothers set the table attractively and make preparations for the meal, the activity of the digestive glands will be stimulated, and the child’s appetite will improve. Normal appetite depends to a great extent on a properly managed schedule. Children must play outdoors, sleep and eat at fixed hours. If children do not spend much time in the fresh air, they are commonly poor eaters.

Children must not be overfed, neither must they be given too much high-calorie food or fats in excess. Fat, if there is too much of it, will inhibit gastric juice secretion, disturb protein digestion, and thus finally will impair the appetite. Poor appetite may be connected with a decreased function of the salivary glands. In such cases children keep their food in the mouth for a long time, not being able to swallow it. These children should be taught to take their food in very small amounts at a time; they should also be given a little water to drink during the meal; the moistened food will be easier to swallow. As the child becomes older his appetite usually becomes normal; however all measures should be taken to ensure a healthy appetite at all meals.

Active Words to remember:

Lack; to lose appetite; to associate; to notice; nutrition; loss; to prove; to be excited; desire; inhibition; juice; harmful; to improve; to a great extent; impair; properly;

to manage; to feed (overfeed); to disturb; to decrease; to moisten; to ensure; meals; to flow.