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- 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.
- 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.
- Overview
- 1. You’re not eating enough protein
- 2. You’re not sleeping enough
- 3. You’re eating too many refined carbs
- 4. Your diet is low in fat
- 5. You’re not drinking enough water
- 6. Your diet lacks fiber
- 7. You eat while you’re distracted
- 8. You exercise a lot
- 9. You’re drinking too much alcohol
If you always feel hungry, it may be a sign of dietary deficiencies, stress, not getting enough sleep, or hormone imbalances. Eating enough protein, staying hydrated, and getting enough sleep can help reduce hunger.
Hunger is your body’s natural cue that it needs more food.
When you’re hungry, your stomach may “growl” and feel empty, or you may get a headache, feel irritable, or be unable to concentrate.
Most people can go several hours between meals before feeling hungry again, though this isn’t the case for everyone.
There are several possible explanations for this, including a diet that lacks protein, fat, or fiber, as well as excessive stress or dehydration.
This article discusses 14 reasons for excessive hunger.
Consuming enough protein is important for appetite control.
Protein has hunger-reducing properties that may help you automatically consume fewer calories during the day. It works by increasing the production of hormones that signal fullness and reducing the levels of hormones that stimulate hunger (1, 2, 3, 4).
Due to these effects, you may feel hungry frequently if you’re not eating enough protein.
In one study, 14 men with excess weight who consumed 25% of their calories from protein for 12 weeks experienced a 50% reduction in their desire for late-night snacking, compared with a group that consumed less protein (5).
Additionally, those with a higher protein intake reported greater fullness throughout the day and fewer obsessive thoughts about food (5).
Many different foods are high in protein, so it’s not difficult to get enough of it through your diet. Including a source of protein in every meal can help prevent excessive hunger.
Getting adequate sleep is extremely important for your health.
Sleep is required for the proper functioning of your brain and immune system, and getting enough of it is associated with a lower risk of several chronic illnesses, including heart disease and cancer (6).
Additionally, sleeping enough is a factor in appetite control, as it helps regulate ghrelin, the appetite-stimulating hormone. Lack of sleep leads to higher ghrelin levels, which is why you may feel hungrier when you are sleep deprived (7, 8).
In one study, 15 people who were sleep deprived for only 1 night reported being significantly more hungry and chose 14% larger portion sizes, compared with a group that slept for 8 hours (9).
Getting enough sleep also helps ensure adequate levels of leptin, a hormone that promotes feelings of fullness (7, 8).
To keep your hunger levels well managed, it’s generally recommended to get at least 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night.
Refined carbs have been highly processed and stripped of their fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
One of the most popular sources of refined carbs is white flour, which is found in many grain-based foods like bread and pasta. Foods like soda, candy, and baked goods, which are made with processed sugars, are also considered to be refined carbs.
Since refined carbs lack filling fiber, your body digests them very quickly. This is a major reason why you may be hungry frequently if you eat a lot of refined carbs, as they do not promote significant feelings of fullness (10).
Furthermore, eating refined carbs may lead to rapid spikes in your blood sugar. This leads to increased levels of insulin, a hormone responsible for transporting sugar into your cells (10, 11).
When a lot of insulin is released at once in response to high blood sugar, it quickly removes sugar from your blood, which may lead to a sudden drop in blood sugar levels, a condition known as hypoglycemia (10, 11).
Low blood sugar levels signal your body that it needs more food, which is another reason why you may feel hungry often if refined carbs are a regular part of your diet (10).
Fat 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 and remains in your stomach for a long period. Additionally, eating fat may lead to the release of various fullness-promoting hormones (13, 14, 15).
For these reasons, you may feel frequent hunger if your diet is low in fat.
One study including 270 adults with obesity found that those who followed a low fat diet had significant increases in cravings for carbs and preferences for high-sugar foods, compared with a group that consumed a low carb diet (16).
Furthermore, those in the low fat group reported more feelings of hunger than the group that followed a low carb eating pattern (16).
There are many nutrient-dense, high fat foods that you can include in your diet to increase your fat intake. Certain types of fats, such as medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) and omega-3 fatty acids, have been studied the most for their ability to reduce appetite (17, 18, 19, 20).
Proper hydration is incredibly important for your overall health.
Drinking enough water has several health benefits, including promoting brain and heart health and optimizing exercise performance. Additionally, water keeps your skin and digestive system healthy (21).
Water is also quite filling and has the potential to reduce appetite when consumed before meals (22, 23).
In one study, 14 people who drank 2 cups of water before a meal ate almost 600 fewer calories than those who didn’t drink any water (24).
Due to water’s role in keeping you full, you may find that you feel hungry frequently if you’re not drinking enough of it.
Feelings of thirst can be mistaken for feelings of hunger. If you’re always hungry, it may help to drink a glass or two of water to find out if you’re just thirsty (23).
If your diet lacks fiber, you may feel hungry frequently.
Consuming lots of high fiber foods helps keep hunger well managed. High fiber foods slow your stomach’s emptying rate and take longer to digest than low fiber foods (12, 26).
Additionally, a high fiber intake influences the release of appetite-reducing hormones and the production of short-chain fatty acids, which have been shown to have fullness-promoting effects (12).
It’s important to note that there are different types of fiber, and some are better than others at keeping you full and preventing hunger. Several studies have found that soluble fiber, or fiber that dissolves in water, is more filling than insoluble fiber (27, 28, 29).
Many different foods, such as oatmeal, flaxseeds, sweet potatoes, oranges, and Brussels sprouts, are excellent sources of soluble fiber.
Not only does a high fiber diet help reduce hunger, but it’s also associated with several other health benefits, such as a reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity (30).
If you live a busy lifestyle, you may often eat while you are distracted.
Although it may save you time, distracted eating can be detrimental to your health. It’s associated with greater appetite, increased calorie intake, and weight gain (31).
The primary reason for this is because distracted eating reduces your awareness of how much you’re consuming. It prevents you from recognizing your body’s fullness signals as efficiently as when you’re not distracted (31).
Several studies have shown that those who engage in distracted eating are hungrier than those who avoid distractions during mealtimes (31).
In one study, 88 women were instructed to eat either while distracted or sitting in silence. Those who were distracted were less full and had a significantly greater desire to eat more throughout the day, compared with the non-distracted eaters (32).
Another study found that people who distracted themselves with a computer game during lunch were less full than those who did not play the game. Additionally, the distracted eaters consumed 48% more food in a test that occurred later that day (33).
Individuals who exercise frequently burn a lot of calories.
This is especially true if you regularly participate in high-intensity exercise or engage in physical activity for long durations, such as in marathon training.
Research has shown that those who exercise vigorously on a regular basis tend to have a faster metabolism, which means that they burn more calories at rest than those who exercise moderately or live sedentary lifestyles (34, 35).
More recently, however, a 2014 systematic review of 103 studies found no consistent evidence to support increased energy intake during exercise. Additional randomized studies are needed (36).
In one study, 10 men who engaged in a vigorous 45-minute workout increased their overall metabolic rate by 37% for the day, compared with another day when they did not exercise (37).
Another study found that women who exercised at a high intensity every day for 16 days burned 33% more calories throughout the day than a group that did not exercise and 15% more calories than moderate exercisers. The results were similar for men (38).
Alcohol is well known for its appetite-stimulating effects (43).
Studies have shown that alcohol may inhibit hormones that reduce appetite, such as leptin, especially when it is consumed before or with meals. For this reason, you may feel hungry often if you drink too much alcohol (43, 44, 45).
In one study, 12 men who drank 1.5 ounces (40 mL) of alcohol before lunch ended up consuming 300 more calories at the meal than a group that drank only 0.3 ounces (10 mL) (46).
Additionally, those who drank more alcohol ate 10% more calories throughout the entire day, compared with the group that drank less. They were also more likely to consume high amounts of high fat and salty foods (46).
Another study found that 26 people who drank 1 ounce (30 mL) of alcohol with a meal consumed 30% more calories, compared with a group that avoided alcohol (47).
Alcohol may not only make you hungrier, but it also impairs the part of your brain that controls judgment and self-control. This may lead you to eat more, regardless of how hungry you are (44).
- Brianna Elliott, RD
Dec 18, 2023 · If you’re always hungry, it could signal a dietary deficiency, stress, too little sleep, or hormone imbalances. The answer could be any of 14 reasons—some minor, some serious, some easily remedied, and others more difficult to fix. This article details those reasons, plus signs of extreme hunger and when you need to talk to a healthcare ...
- Adrienne Dellwo
- You’ve Got High Sleep Debt. Sleep debt is the amount of sleep you owe your body. It’s measured against your sleep need, the genetically determined amount of sleep you need each night.
- You’re Living Out of Sync with Your Circadian Rhythm. Your circadian rhythm is your body’s roughly 24-hour internal clock. Among other jobs, it dictates your sleep-wake cycle.
- You’re Not Getting the Right Balance of Macronutrients. Macronutrients are carbohydrates, protein, and fat. These make up the three main nutrients we need for fuel.
- Your Diet is High in Refined Carbs. Refined carbs lack nutrients and fiber, which gives you a feeling of fullness. They also spike your blood sugar, leading to hunger when you get the inevitable sugar crash.
Dec 18, 2023 · Eventually, Lowe adds, the brain changes, so even anticipating eating the food causes a dopamine rush: “This is why I called it hedonic hunger. It’s a hunger for more pleasure, not for more calories.”. “When we eat delicious food, we get a surge of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is part of the reward system in our brain.
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Oct 21, 2021 · From not getting enough sleep to feeling overwhelmed, here are seven reasons why you might feel constantly hungry: You're not really hungry. Reaching for the pantry door shortly after eating often means you’re psychologically hungry. You're turning to food to cope with uncomfortable feelings like sadness, depression and anxiety.
