hunger

Question
Why are you more likely to be hungry when you are cold?

Answer



Hi Haley,

This is a very good question and a good idea for me to write an article about eating behavior and how it's controlled by the brain. Please visit our site dietandbody.com next week (or subscribe there to receive our updates) and I promise there'll be an article on temperature and hunger :)

There is so called "thermoregulatory theory of hunger" which seems to be logical since it takes energy to maintain body temperature in cold environment, even when you wear warm clothes (you breathe in cold air, for one thing.)

Experimental data supporting the theory used to be plentiful but the interest to this aspect to eating behavior and to eating behavior at large seems to be lost after late 1970s.

It all seemed to be based on brain centers controlling hunger and satiety. When chemically altered, or surgically  manipulated, these centers where switched off and no hunger response to low ambient temperature could be observed.

In one old experiment, the interaction between external temperature and food intake were tested on heavily sedated rats placed in temperatures ranging from 4-37 degrees C. No increase in food intake was revealed under any temperature condition.

Rats with removed lateral hypothalamus (hunger center) didn't show the normal increase in food intake in response to exposure to severe cold stress.

Tanya Zilberter


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TZ  

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