Summary of main points.

• Hunger is a strong physiological sensation regulated in the hypothalamus.

• Appetite—physiological, psychological and social—influences eating behaviour.

• Distinguishing between biological hunger and emotional hunger is important.

• Nutrients in food vary in their ability to suppress hunger, and dietary fat has the least effect on decreasing total energy consumption.

Hunger is the strong physiological sensation which drives us to find and eat food. It has been called a ‘biologically useful sensation’ because of its obvious survival value. It is part of wider appetite mechanisms which include psychological dimensions.

Our hunger and appetite mechanisms, however, seem to provide little defence against the variety of food and ever-present cues to eat in our modem society. Genetic research is now showing that the feeling of ‘fullness’ or ‘satiety’ may be partly genetically determined, such that some people have better switch off mechanisms to tell them that they are full. Recent insights into the complexity of the human feeding machine may help us to resolve some old puzzles and lay the basis for a more thorough understanding of eating and obesity.

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