Module 38: Hunger Motivation

Question 1

What are the physiological effects of hunger?

Answer 1

Stomach Contractions
- L. Washburn swallowed device with a balloon. Inflated to fill his stomach the balloon transmitted his stomach contractions. Washburn pressed a key each time he felt a pang of hunger

Question 2

Can hunger exist without stomach contractions?

Answer 2

Some hunger similarly persists in humans whose ulcerated or cancerous stomachs have been removed.

Question 3

Glucose

Answer 3

The form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides the major source of energy for the body tissues
*when its level is low, we feel hunger

Question 4

Glucose and Hunger

Answer 4

Your brain is automatically monitoring your blood chemistry and your body’s internal state, will trigger hunger

Question 5

How does blood glucose impact hunger?

Answer 5

Appetite hormones released from your hypothalamus, stomach, intestines, pancreas, and liver all signal your brain to motivate eating or not to motivate eating

Question 6

Orexin

Answer 6

A hunger-triggering hormones produced by the hypothalamus

Question 7

Ghrelin

Answer 7

Hormones secreted by empty stomach sends “I’m hungry” signals to the brain

Question 8

Insulin

Answer 8

Hormones secreted by pancreas; controls blood glucose

Question 9

Leptin

Answer 9

Protein hormone secreted by fat cells; when abundant, cause brain to increase metabolism and decrease hunger

Question 10

PYY (Peptide Tyrosine Tyrosine)

Answer 10

Digestive tract hormone sends “I’m not hungry” signals to the brain

Question 11

How does the arcuate nucleus impact hunger?

Answer 11

A small structure in the base of the hypothalamus, the arcuate nucleus plays a key role in the regulation of appetite and body weight by signaling the release of leptin or ghrelin

Question 12

What role does the hypothalamus play in hunger?

Answer 12

The hypothalamus performs various body maintenance functions, including control of hunger. Blood vessels supply the hypothalamus, enabling it to respond to our current blood chemistry as well as to incoming neural information about the body’s state

Question 13

Set Point

Answer 13

The point (weight) at which your “weight thermostat” may be set (fixed).

When your body falls below this weight, increased hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may combine to restore lost weight

Question 14

Basal Metabolic Rate

Answer 14

The resting rate of energy expenditure for maintaining basic body functions

Question 15

How do our bodies regulate weight?

Answer 15

Our bodies regulate weight through the control of food intake, energy output, and basal metabolic rate.

Question 16

Social/Cultural influences on hunger

Answer 16

• Cultural preferences for or aversions to certain foods
• portion sizes offered
• eating & socializing

Question 17

What are some of the risk associated with obesity?

Answer 17

Diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, gallstones, arthritis, certain types of cancer

Question 18

Obesity

Answer 18

A disorder involving excessive body fat that increases the risk of health problems

Question 19

Body Mass Index (BMI)

Answer 19

A measurement of your body fat based on your weight in relation to your height

*does not take into account muscle mass, bone density, overall body composition, and racial and sex differences

Question 20

Why is storing fat adaptive?

Answer 20

This ideal form of stored energy carried our ancestors through periods of famine (evolutionary perspective)

People in impoverished places still find heavier bodies attractive, as plumpness signals affluence and status

Question 21

How do set point and metabolism contribute to obesity?

Answer 21

Fat (lower metabolic rate than muscle) requires less food intake to maintain than it did to gain

If weight drops below a set point/settling point, the brain triggers hunger and metabolism

Body perceives Starvation; adapts by burning fewer calories. Most dieters in the long run regain what they lose on weight-loss programs

Question 22

Does sleep loss contribute to obesity?

Answer 22

yes
Sleep deprivation increase the release of ghrelin which stimulates the appetite and decrease the release of leptin which reports body fat to the brain

If we are eating more and not alerting the brain to fat accumulation, we are going to gain weight

Question 23

Unit Bias

Answer 23

The tendency to eat more if given more food (eat more when the portion is bigger). This occurs mindlessly

Question 24

Food Variety

Answer 24

Stemming from evolutional benefits, people eat more when there are varied and plentiful amounts of food. This is because the different foods provide different types of vitamins and minerals

Question 25

Genetic Factors

Answer 25

There is a genetic influence on body weight. This is evident through studies where adoptive siblings do not have similar body weights regardless of shared family meals

Question 26

Food & Activity

Answer 26

People who experience sleep loss are more vulnerable to obesity because their levels of leptin drop while their levels of ghrelin increase (leptin signals body fat to the brain and ghrelin is the appetite-stimulating hormone). Another factor is the decrease in the daily activity since changes in technology and work doesn’t require physical activity as much as it used to

Question 27

True or False: A person is more likely to become obese if their friend is, especially if they are a close friend.

Answer 27

True

Question 28

True or False: Obesity does not contribute to depression.

Answer 28

False

Obesity contributes to depression and brings about more obesity