
food, copious food – source: pexels
You’ve seen it all over the newspapers and TV: we’re in a crisis of obesity and overeating. There are multiple reasons for this happening, but one possibility is eating when we’re not hungry [via The Tao of Good Food].
It seems that besides physical hunger, there’s also something called psychological hunger. This can be triggered for any one of several reasons:
- Reading articles like this. (I’m suddenly starving writing this.)
- Seeing images of appetizing food, such as in magazines or in TV commercials.
- Being accustomed to eating at a certain time.
- Being offered variety, such as dessert after you’re already full.
- Smelling foods you’ve enjoyed before, which causes insulin secretion, which makes us think we’re hungry.
- Drinking alcohol overrides normal hunger sense.
- Being in a cold room tends to cause more eating.
- Eating refined carbs might cause repeat cravings a few hours later.