14.3 Recognizing the Influence of Appetite, Hunger, and Satiety on Eating

Hunger, appetite, and satiety influence why, when, what, and how much we eat. Appetite represents the desire to eat food and is often psychological. The physical need to eat is experienced as hunger. If we’re hungry, our stomachs growl or hurt to signal that we should eat something. We might experience light-headedness or feel grouchy or impatient if we haven’t eaten for a while. We probably can’t concentrate very well, either. After eating an adequate amount, the hunger pangs and growling stomach go away.

Sometimes our desire to eat certain foods has nothing to do with whether or not we’re actually hungry. We might have a craving for specific food items or we may think we’re hungry when we’re actually thirsty. Appetite is driven by our past experiences and can be a powerful motivator to eat, whether we’re hungry or not. Satiety is the feeling of satisfaction and readiness to stop eating and is both physical and psychological.

Infants and toddlers are generally pretty good at listening to natural cues from their bodies; they’ll typically eat if they’re hungry and not eat or stop eating when they are satiated. Over time, many people lose the ability to recognize—or choose to ignore—their natural cues for hunger and satiety. Some potential reasons include:

• Living in an environment where food is constantly available
• Living in an environment where food is scarce or not reliably available
• Being served and consuming large portion sizes
• Being encouraged or feeling the need to finish everything that’s on the plate
• Being rewarded with food for accomplishments or punished through food deprivation
• Eating in response to emotions—positive or negative
• Eating while doing other things
• Eating at certain times or during social situations, regardless of hunger
• Not having sufficient time to eat due to a busy schedule
• Having a history of restrictive dieting or growing up in a family where food restriction was common

Experiences like these train our appetite. If we continuously ignore our physical hunger and satiety cues over time, we gradually lose the ability to recognize when we are truly hungry or full. This in turn affects why, when, what, and how much we eat. Recognizing, trusting, and following your body’s cues will help you eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full.

Learning Activity: Subjective Hunger and Satiety Cues