The signals that indicate to our body that we are hungry mostly emerge from the brain and from there responses are activated, which are mediated by hormones, which translate into something as visible as the feeling of hunger.

When are the signs of hunger emitted? When we are anxious, happy, tired, depressed, sad, nervous, happy, if we are with a lot of work behind or we still have many responsibilities to fulfill, if we have cold, heat and so we could continue to list situations until we are fed up, the important thing is to know  that before an emotional stimulus neuroendocrine factors responsible for regulating ingestion and energy balance will be triggered, then the energy homeostasis of the body that allows establishing a stabilization of body weight and fat mass through a complex network of physiological systems that regulate the contribution, expenditure and storage in energy reserves will be altered and hunger will appear.

What happens when hunger comes from a mental or emotional situation? The mechanism that signals the level of energy reserves is altered and sends a "deceptive" signal that can be transmitted to the body's regulatory centers by altering them. In this way, the control sites of the central nervous system and in particular the Hypothalamus, must be able to receive and integrate the message about the state of the energy reservoir but receive it modified, as if we were "starving".

Therefore, the mechanism that modulates peripheral signals and nerve centers to intervene in the regulation of the two components of energy balance and energy expenditure is altered and we overeat or eat poorly and stop performing physical activities to avoid energy expenditure.

Dr. Gabriela Tórtolo – MP. 24052

Obesity and metabolic syndrome specialist

La Posada del Qenti