Do you too often finish a meal feeling uncomfortably stuffed? Are those donut cravings getting a little out of control? It could be a case of a bung appetite.
Hunger and appetite are two very different things. Hunger is a physical response to low glucose levels in the blood. It’s like the body’s safety net to make sure we’ve always got fuel coming in.
Appetite on the other hand is our desire for food. It takes cues from our digestive system and hormones, but it’s also closely tied our eating behaviours, environment and emotional state.
“It is appetite that can lead your eyes to be bigger than your stomach,” says nutritional biochemist, Dr Libby Weaver.
And these days when we’re so often stressed, eating on the run or turning to high-sugar foods for energy, our eyes can get pretty darn big. We can easily wind up eating far more than we should, or craving more sugary junk to get us through the day.
Hungry hormones.
Hormones play a big role in letting the brain know we’re ready for that next meal, or if we should give that final taco a miss.
Ghrelin (the hormone that tells us we’re hungry) and leptin (the hormone that tells us where full) work together with the brain’s reward centre to keep our appetite in check and let us know when we’re satisfied.
“But in the hectic world we live in now, many people eat when they’re distracted or on the run,” says Libby.
“They have literally lost the ability to listen to the intrinsic satiety signals.”
Stress heads.
And when we’re chronically stressed, the situation goes from bad worse. The stress hormone cortisol not only increases our motivation for food, it also makes us hanker for the sweet stuff, which rushes to the reward centre of the brain and temporarily calms us down. (Who hasn’t thought of a cupcake as a “comfort food”?)
But here’s the kicker. Those high-sugar foods also interrupt the ghrelin and leptin feedback, leaving the brain totally confused about how much we’re eating – cue that desire to scoff the entire tray of donuts.
Emotional eaters.
Our emotional state is also hugely influential on appetite. “That feeling of wanting to eat everything in your path can stem from an emotional connection you have formed with food,” says Libby.
Yep, emotional eating is definitely a thing. In fact, a recent survey revealed that 83 per cent of overweight Australians struggle with it. Rather than connecting with food in a beneficial way, we can often turn to it as a crutch when we’re feeling crappy.
If you find yourself constantly hungry, it might be time to adopt some more positive food behaviors. Being mindful of your body’s relationships to food will help you find a healthier appetite, one that doesn’t end in a chocolate binge.
We’ll be sharing our tips on resetting your appetite in another article shortly. Watch this space!
Think your appetite might be out of whack?
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