Satiety

Hunger and satiety are sensations. Hunger represents the physiological need to eat food. Satiety is the absence of hunger; it is the sensation of feeling full.

Appetite is another sensation experienced with eating; it is the desire to eat food. There are several theories about how the feeling of hunger arises. A healthy, well-nourished individual can survive for weeks without food intake, with claims ranging from three to ten weeks. The sensation of hunger typically manifests after only a few hours without eating and is generally considered to be unpleasant.

Hunger is also the most commonly used term to describe the condition of people who suffer from a chronic lack of sufficient food and constantly or frequently experience the sensation of hunger.

When hunger contractions start to occur in the stomach, they are informally referred to as hunger pangs. Hunger pangs usually do not begin until 12 to 24 hours after the last ingestion of food. A single hunger contraction lasts about 30 seconds, and pangs continue for around 30 to 45 minutes, then hunger subsides for around 30 to 150 minutes. Individual contractions are separated at first, but are almost continuous after a certain amount of time.Emotional states (anger, joy etc.) may inhibit hunger contractions. Levels of hunger are increased by lower blood sugar levels, and are higher in diabetics. They reach their greatest intensity in three to four days and may weaken in the succeeding days, although research suggests that hunger never disappears. Hunger contractions are most intense in young, healthy people who have high degrees of gastrointestinal tonus. Periods between contractions increase with old age.

The fluctuation of leptin and ghrelin hormone levels results in the motivation of an organism to consume food. When an organism eats, adipocytes trigger the release of leptin into the body. Increasing levels of leptin result in a reduction of one's motivation to eat. After hours of non-consumption, leptin levels drop significantly. These low levels of leptin cause the release of a secondary hormone, ghrelin, which in turn reinitiates the feeling of hunger.

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