Appetite Uncovered: What It Really Is and How to Control It for Better Health

Appetite is our desire to eat while hunger is our physical need to eat.  We have a biological right to eat food, no?  If we don’t eat, we die.  Does that justify eating Skittles for breakfast? Well no, not necessarily.

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Appetite has a significant psychological component. You can want to eat but not physiologically need to eat (think boredom eating) and vice versa (not eating due to anxiety).  Sights and smells can also stimulate appetite.

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The endocrine and nervous system are typically the two main systems of the body that dictate appetite.  Additional key players in appetite regulation are insulin, thyroid hormone, and cortisol.

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A bunch of science-y words that mean goose eggs to you, right?  Bear with me.

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Your body likes balance, also known as homeostasis.  It’s constantly playing this game with a tipping scale that shifts based on caloric intake, sleep, stress, and other biomarkers. Your body responds to external factors by altering internal factors like the ones I just mentioned.

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We know that stress, for example, is a catalyst for a series of biofeedback reactions.  High stress can upset digestion, lower energy, worsen sleep, and mess with appetite. Ahh, it is truly all connected, isn’t it? So what does this mean for YOU?  Ultimately, your energy intake and expenditure can be impacted, which can mean implications for your results, body composition, metabolic functions, and so on.

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When you’re in a dieting phase, your appetite will likely increase.

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This makes sense - you’re eating less than your maintenance calories, so your body stimulates appetite to get you to eat so it equalizes that tipping scale we talked about. When you’ve trained heavily or you have a physically demanding job, your body will stimulate appetite to meet energy needs.  And sometimes driving past Taco Bell is enough to make you want to eat, too!.

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So what can you do to ensure you’re taking care of hunger while managing appetite to prioritize your health and goals?

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A few tips:

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Eat slowly and chew your food to a paste before swallowing.

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Become an expert on your body’s hunger/fullness cues.

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Eat without distractions.

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Stay aware of emotional eating.

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Experiment with foods:

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Find what foods make you feel the best, what foods don’t sit well, what foods taste the best to you, etc.

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Don’t go too long without eating.

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Remember that hunger isn’t an emergency.

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