Starvation happens when a living being (like a person or an animal) doesn't eat enough food to live properly. If a living thing is starving for a long period of time, it dies.

Starvation can be seen as an extreme version of hunger. During starvation, the body will slowly but surely become less fat and stop working properly, until the living being dies or eats enough again to stop starving.

There are other effects of starvation. These can include:

• Tiredness,
• problems with thinking properly,
• sudden and extreme changes to emotions,
• dehydration (lack of water in the body),
• vomiting,
• loss of muscles,
• a swollen stomach caused by kwashiorkor,
• weakness and not being able to stand.