Originally Posted by
lph
I wish there was a lot more research done on appetite. Hunger is a very strong feeling, and almost impossible to ignore. Now that most of us have unlimited access to food we need to know a lot more about how to balance our natural desire to eat while it's there with the more subtle signals of "enough".
There is quite a bit of research. As a formerly obese person I especially was interested in how hormones which regulate appetite go way out of whack when you lose weight, with not enough of the hormone which suppresses appetite and too much of the hormone which increases appetite. Then there is the effect of behavior conditioning on appetite. If you eat in certain circumstances when that circumstance occurs you might feel hungry. Food and the triggers that stimulate you to eat both elevate dopamine levels in the reward areas of the brain. If you have reduced dopaminergic activity in the brain you may overeat to compensate. A genetic deficiency in this brain chemical may very well drive you to addictive behavior from overeating to drug addiction and even gambling. Interestingly, this is often reversed in gastric bypass patients. Bypass is a far more effective way to lose weight and keep it off than a diet, as drastic as it is.
Certain types of food can drive the appetite up, specifically, sweets and starches. Insulin is important in regulation of appetite.
We know a lot about appetite, we just don't know enough about how to deal with it. Right now, bypass may be the best bet for the obese, risks and all. There are some promising avenues of research that might lead to better solutions. Yes, there even may be a pill someday. There are some things one can experiment with to see if it helps, such as:
--knowing the triggers which stimulate you to eat and break that connection.
--find new sources of pleasure and reward. Exercise may fall in this category. Good social networks of like minded people certainly are sources of pleasure and reward.
--eat more protein, less carbs
--High dose fish oil? Maybe increases dopamine and dopamine receptors
My hunch for me is that I am dopamine deficient. I struggle with controlling eating. I also struggle with controlling my shopping. I have to have a rigid set of rules about my shopping. For example, I keep a separate credit card for shopping and pay that card from a separate bank account. I fund that account twice a year in a pre-determined amount. That is all I can spend on pleasure shopping.
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