Why does stomach grow from hunger?

Question

what causes this

Answer 1

I'm not a medical person, but I think I know the answer.  People who are under-nourished sometimes have distended stomachs.  I've heard this condition is caused by severe protein deficiency.

Answer 2

Its not their stomach growing. The condition is called Kwashiorkor (see link below) and is symptomatic of protein malnutrition. You need to have salt and protein in your blood to hold fluid in the blood vessels. With low protein levels (low pressure), the blood can't hold fluid in the vessels and so it leaks out as edema. This collects in the abdomen as ascities. They do not have "fat bellies," but fluid filled bellies. There are some other mechanisms that go into a lot of complicated biochemistry. But the end result is that there isn't enough energy to "pump" that fluid back out.