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Ways to regulate appetite
Last reviewed: 06.07.2025
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Appetite is the desire to eat, having felt it, hunger goes straight to the heart (joke) stomach. Appetite exists in all higher forms of life and serves to regulate adequate energy consumption to maintain metabolism. During appetite, the close interaction between the digestive tract, adipose tissue and brain is regulated. What are the mechanisms of appetite regulation, how to regulate appetite in practice?
Read also: Emotional overeating: what is it and how to deal with it?
Regulation of the appetite mechanism
Appetite regulation has been the subject of much research in the last decades of the last century. A breakthrough occurred in 1994, when the properties of the hormone leptin were discovered to provide negative feedback between the taste of foods and the desire to eat them. More recent studies have shown that appetite regulation is an extremely complex process involving the interaction of the gastrointestinal tract, many hormones, and the functions of the central and autonomic nervous systems.
A decrease in the desire to eat is called anorexia, while polyphagia (or hyperphagia) is the result of increased appetite, a passion for food. Disorders of appetite regulation are promoted by anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, cachexia, overeating and gluttony.
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Appetite regulating systems
The hypothalamus is the part of the brain that is the main regulatory organ of human appetite. There are neurons that regulate appetite, they play a vital role in these processes.
The predictions of the work of these neurons contribute to the awareness of hunger, and the somatic processes of the body are controlled by the hypothalamus, they include a call signal (the parasympathetic vegetative nervous system comes into play), the thyroid gland is stimulated (thyroxine regulates the rate of metabolism), the mechanism of appetite regulation also involves the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and a large number of other mechanisms. Appetite processes are also regulated by opioid receptors associated with sensations from eating certain foods.
Appetite sensors
The hypothalamus responds to external stimuli by sensing them, mainly through a series of hormones such as leptin, ghrelin, PYY 3-36, orexin, and cholecystokinin. They are produced by the gastrointestinal tract and adipose tissue. There are systemic mediators such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), interleukins 1 and 6, and corticotropin-releasing hormones (CRH), which negatively affect appetite. This mechanism explains why sick people often eat less than healthy people.
In addition, the biological clock (which is regulated by the hypothalamus) stimulates hunger. Processes from other brain loci, such as the limbic system and the cerebral cortex, project to the hypothalamus and can alter appetite. This explains why energy consumption can change quite significantly in states of clinical depression and stress.
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The Role of Appetite in Diseases
Limited or excessive appetite is not always pathological. Abnormal appetite can be defined as unhealthy eating habits, causing malnutrition and reverse conditions concerning such processes as obesity and related problems.
Both genetic and environmental factors can regulate appetite, and deviations in either direction can lead to abnormal appetite. Poor appetite (anorexia) can have many causes, but can result from physical illness (infectious, autoimmune or malignant diseases) or psychological factors (stress, mental disorders).
Similarly, hyperphagia (the over-satiety factor) can be a consequence of hormonal imbalances, or caused by mental disorders (such as depression), etc. Dyspepsia, also known as indigestion, can also affect appetite - one of its symptoms is feeling "too full" soon after starting to eat.
Disturbances in appetite regulation underlie anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. In addition, a decrease in the body's response to satiety can contribute to the development of obesity.
Various hereditary forms of obesity have been found to be due to defects in hypothalamic signaling (eg, leptin receptors and MC-4 receptors.
Pharmacology for appetite regulation
Mechanisms that control appetite are potential targets for weight loss drugs. These are anorexigenic drugs such as fenfluramine. A recent addition, sibutramine, can increase serotonin and norepinephrine, and control the central nervous system, but these drugs should be monitored by a physician because they may cause adverse cardiovascular risks.
Similarly, appetite suppression should be matched with appropriate receptor antagonists when associated with worsening depression and increased risk of suicide. Recent reports on the recombinant substance PYY 3-36 suggest that this agent may promote weight loss by suppressing appetite.
Given the scale of the obesity epidemic in the modern world, and the fact that it is rapidly growing in some disadvantaged countries, scientists are developing appetite suppressants that could be safe for suppressing other functions of the body. That is, not affect the psyche and well-being. Diet itself is an ineffective remedy in most cases of adult obesity, and even in obese people who have already successfully lost weight through dieting, because their weight soon returns.