Appetite

Poor appetite present in the patient with a prolonged illness manifesting as emaciation, loose stools, lassitude and a pale tongue with a thin white coating indicates weakness of the spleen and stomach ; poor appetite accompanied by stuffiness in the chest, fullness in the abdomen and a thick, sticky tongue coating suggests stagnation of qi of the spleen and stomach caused by retention of food or retention of pathogenic damp.

Excessive appetite and getting hungry easily in a skinny patient indicate excessive stomach fire.

Hunger with no desire to eat or eating a small amount of food suggests impairment of the stomach yin producing internal heat of deficiency type.