Why Do We Eat Without Being Hungry?

Often we eat without feeling hungry, but why? There are different reasons that we explain to you in this article.

Have you ever eaten without an appetite? We all experience this situation regularly. But, why do we eat without being hungry? In this article, we explain the factors that cause us to eat without actually feeling hungry.

There is a fine line between people who eat without hunger and emotional eaters. The latter group can be dangerous because it increases the risk of developing an eating disorder.

Causes of feeling hungry

If we ask ourselves the question,  why do we feel hungry ?, the answers are:

• Meet the nutritional needs to live.
• Maintain brain structures and functions.
• Give energy to our body.

However, nowadays we eat more and more for pleasure rather than nutrition. Our culture, the stressful society we live in, food marketing or the ease of access to a wide variety of foods are factors that largely influence this problematic phenomenon. Now let’s find out why we eat without being hungry.

What is hunger and how is it regulated?

Hunger, satiety and energy balance are regulated by an integrated neuroendocrine system at the level of the hypothalamus. This system is made up of a complex network of neurohormonal circuits. It includes molecular signals of peripheral and central origin, of short and long duration. As well as other sensory, mechanical and cognitive factors.

The short-lived signals are regulated by ghrelin, which increases with young, and leptin, which inhibits food absorption and increases metabolism. In contrast,  long-lasting signals reflect the volume of fat stores.

Why do we eat without being hungry?

As we mentioned,  there are other external factors that cause us to eat without feeling hungry. We explain them now.

High palatability of food

The food industry has created foods with very powerful flavors to stimulate our appetites and our desire to eat more. For example, the mixture of sugar and fat in sweets. Or very salty foods with artificial flavors like French fries or crisps.

She even invented a fifth flavor, the umami flavor  found in foods high in MSG. These are mainly ultra-processed foods.

In addition, it should be noted that the foods capable of generating satiety are those with a high content of protein, fat and fiber. This is stated in a study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Food marketing

Everywhere, we find food advertisements that promote products that are not always healthy. Seeing an advertisement for an attractive food while watching TV can cause certain emotions. Marketing then takes the opportunity to make more sales.

Advertisements actually get us to hum their music or easily remember their slogan. Therefore, listening or watching an advertisement, we are sometimes tempted to buy the product in question,  whatever the time.

Social and cultural factors

Another factor that explains why we eat without being hungry is the culture that prompts us to celebrate everything by eating and drinking. The celebration of a party, Christmas, a wedding, etc., are times that often lead us to overeat without realizing it.

The emotions

“I’ve had a bad day at work, I’m under a lot of stress, I’m exhausted when I come home, I need to relax and feel better…”. You’ve probably been through these states before and found refuge in food. Most of the time, we eat out of boredom, stress, joy, sadness, etc. This is called emotional hunger.

Usually at these times we lose control, to varying degrees. Often, we unconsciously choose unhealthy foods that contain fat, sugar or salt. In many people, the feeling of stress has been shown to be able to alter the regulation between appetite and satiety.

A huge variety of foods

Nowadays we find an endless amount of foods, local, imported from other countries, suitable for different lifestyles, as well as unhealthy foods. As humans, we are tempted to try new things. Which makes control even more difficult.

Not getting enough sleep

Lack of sleep leads to alterations in the hormones responsible for regulating appetite. We are therefore more hungry. It also encourages us to choose foods with higher calories and more fat. This is what a Scientific Reports study shows .

How can we control food intake without going hungry?

The first thing to do is not to buy unhealthy foods,  such as sweets, salty snacks, sugary drinks, etc. On the other hand, it is preferable to buy healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, dried fruits, natural dairy products, dark chocolate… In case of craving for snacking, we therefore eat only what we have in the cupboards.

Then listen to your body. Ask yourself the following question: “am I really hungry?”. If you’ve recently eaten, you’re probably not hungry. Also, if you prefer to eat chocolate cake rather than fruit, it may be out of boredom or anxiety.

Finally, if the desire to eat without feeling hungry is still there, another option is to do an activity to forget to eat. For example, you can take a walk, call a friend or read a book. Also, don’t forget to sleep well and exercise.