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Overview. If you want to eat more often or in larger quantities than you’re used to, your appetite has increased. But if you eat more than your body requires, it can lead to weight gain. It’s...
- Diabetes. Your body turns the sugar in food into fuel called glucose. But when you have diabetes, glucose can't reach your cells. Your body pees it out instead and tells you to eat more.
- Low Blood Sugar. Hypoglycemia is what you have when the glucose in your body drops to very low levels. It’s a common concern for people with diabetes, but other health problems can cause it, too.
- Lack of Sleep. Not getting enough rest can affect the hormones in your body that control hunger. People who are sleep-deprived have a bigger appetite and find it harder to feel full.
- Stress. When you're anxious or tense, your body releases a hormone called cortisol. This amps up your feeling of hunger. Many people under stress also crave foods high in sugar, fat, or both.
- Emotional eating. Emotional eating can be triggered by the desire to avoid and cope with feelings like depression, anxiety, and sadness. The hypothalamus — the part of the brain that processes the signals leading to feeling hungry or full — also has a lot to do with emotions.
- Hyperthyroidism. When the thyroid is overactive, your body burns through more calories than usual, which can lead to increased hunger. Graves’ disease is a condition that leads to the production of too much thyroid hormone.
- Pregnancy. Pregnancy is another important cause of increased hunger. Though nausea is a common symptom of early pregnancy, the need to meet the increased calorie requirements of pregnancy leads to feeling pretty hungry, too.
- Not getting enough sleep. Sleep deprivation has also emerged as a cause of excessive hunger. Not getting enough sleep can lead to increased ghrelin levels, which stimulate your appetite.
- Prediabetes and Diabetes. Diabetes mellitus is a medical condition where the body may not produce enough insulin, or as in the case of type 2 diabetes, doesn’t utilize the insulin that already exists efficiently.
- Hypoglycemia. After eating, glucose will enter your bloodstream and make its way into the cells with the help of insulin. You may experience hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar levels, for many reasons, including not consuming adequate carbohydrates.
- Hyperglycemia. Hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar levels, may occur when your body is unable to produce or use insulin efficiently or when glucose production and release into the bloodstream exceeds your body’s capacity to mobilize and metabolize it.
- Hyperthyroidism. Thyroid dysfunctions may have significant effects on body weight and appetite. The thyroid interacts with the hypothalamus and other endocrine centers through the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis to regulate food intake and energy output.
- You’re not eating enough protein. Share on Pinterest. Nadine Greeff/Stocksy United. Consuming enough protein is important for appetite management. The authors of a 2020 review found that protein has several hunger-reducing properties.
- You’re not sleeping enough. Getting adequate sleep is important for your health. It also plays a key role in appetite management. A 2022 review found that poor sleep over extended periods resulted in lower leptin levels.
- You’re eating too many refined carbs. A 2022 review of scientific literature suggests that carbohydrates do not keep you full for as long as protein. But the authors note that not all types of carbohydrates are to be avoided — only digestible carbs, or refined carbs.
- Your diet is low in fat. Fat also plays a key role in keeping you full. This is partly due to its slow gastrointestinal transit time, meaning that it takes longer for you to digest it, and it remains in your stomach for a long time.
Dec 18, 2023 · Stress. Too Many Refined Carbs. Are you always hungry and wondering why? Hunger is the natural way your body lets you know it needs more food. If you’re always hungry, it could signal a dietary deficiency, stress, too little sleep, or hormone imbalances.
36 votes, 12 comments. Because I kind of do. I plan out what I eat usually, and for some reason I plan for large quantities despite obviously not…
