Table of contents:
- What is appetite?
- What can reduce and increase appetite?
- 1. Hormones that affect appetite
- Leptin
- Ghrelin
- 2. The nervous system that affects appetite
- Neuropeptide Y
- Dopamine
- 3. Social environment
- 4. Appearance of food
- 5. Emotional and psychological
- 6. Habits or routines
- How do you control your appetite?
Appetite, small thing but can have a big impact on you. Uncontrolled appetite can make you eat more and eventually lead to excessive weight gain. Or, it could be the other way around if you lose your appetite, then your body's nutritional needs cannot be met and in the end it can make your body thin and your immune system decreases. You may think of it as trivial, but your appetite has a big impact on your diet and your health. What are the things that can increase appetite? Previously, we must first know how appetite occurs.
What is appetite?
Appetite or appetite represents your desire to eat. This desire makes you eat to provide the nutrients your body needs. So, the appetite that is maintained is good for you and your health.
Appetite usually appears when you are hungry. Hunger is an uncomfortable feeling that arises when your body needs to eat. However, your appetite may appear when you don't actually feel hungry, this can be due to various factors. This is what you have to be aware of, an appetite that often appears without feeling hungry will usually cause you to overeat. Overeating will then cause you to become overweight.
What can reduce and increase appetite?
Appetite is a very complex subject, involving the interaction of the brain and hormones and is influenced by habits, external cues and emotions. Many factors can decrease and increase your appetite, it can be factors from within the body or factors from the outside environment.
1. Hormones that affect appetite
Hormones function to maintain balance in your body. Your digestive system also involves hormones to support its work. Some of the hormones that affect appetite are:
Leptin
Leptin is a hormone suppress appetite You. This hormone is released by fat cells in the body. Leptin levels in the body peak when you have eaten or when you are full. So, when you have eaten a lot and are full, then your appetite is lost due to the work of this leptin hormone.
Because leptin is produced by fat cells, the amount of leptin present in a person's body is proportional to the amount of fat in the body. However, in obese people, usually there is leptin resistance, so that the person is not sensitive to signals of fullness.
Ghrelin
This hormone is the opposite of leptin. If leptin suppresses appetite, then ghrelin trigger appetite. This hormone is released by the stomach when the stomach is empty and requires food. The hormone ghrelin increases in amount before meals and then decreases in amount when you have eaten. "This happens naturally every four hours," said Nolan Cohn, quoted from Today's Dietitian.
In obese people, levels of the hormone ghrelin are actually lower. However, obese people are more sensitive to appetite stimuli.
Other hormones that also affect your appetite include somatostatin, amillin, cholecystokinins, glucagon, insulin, and others.
2. The nervous system that affects appetite
Apart from hormones, the nervous system through neurotransmitters (compounds that are similar to hormones) can also affect your appetite. Some of the neurotransmitters that affect appetite are:
Neuropeptide Y
Ghrelin communicates with the brain and triggers the release of a neurotransmitter called neuropeptide Y.This hormone released by the hypothalamus also functions to stimulates hunger. These neurotransmitters are usually released when body fat is low or when the body starts to become deprived of food. In the intestine, neuropeptide Y can slow gastric emptying and food transit times.
Dopamine
Dopamine is a brain neurotransmitter related to the satiety hormone (suppress appetite). Dopamine can activate pleasure centers in the brain that can affect mood and food intake. Dopamine levels can increase due to the intake of foods high in fat and sugar, both of these foods can increase pleasure. However, these two types of food can also increase your appetite, so that you overeat and cause you to gain weight.
Other neurotransmitters that also affect your appetite include serotonin, norepinephrine, acetylcholine, and others.
3. Social environment
The social environment also influences your appetite. For example, eating with friends or family can increase appetite. Your appetite can also increase even more when you eat at the time and place that suits you.
4. Appearance of food
For example, the size of food, food packaging, taste and texture of food, and aroma of food. Usually you have a more appetite for food if the appearance of the food is to your liking.
5. Emotional and psychological
Stress, anxiety, and discomfort can make your appetite disappear or vice versa depending on the individual. Indirectly, your emotions contribute to your appetite.
6. Habits or routines
Appetite can also arise due to eating habits or eating routines that you often do. This could also concern the culture in your environment. For example, there are birthday cakes at birthday celebrations, the habit of eating with friends on Friday nights, or relaxing with family while snacking in front of the TV every holiday, and so on.
How do you control your appetite?
- Know your appetite, do you want to eat when you are really hungry? If he does, eat and when you are full, stop eating.
- It's best not to eat when you're not hungry. Eating when you're not hungry can make you eat more to feel better.
- Don't skip meals when you're hungry. Not eating when you are hungry can actually increase your appetite and you can end up eating more the next time you eat.
