Week 3 - Appetite Flashcards
What is obesity?
Your weight in kg divided by your height in m^2 (ie BMI)
It provides an estimate of how much fat you have
What is fat?
Refers to the amount of white fat cells stored on a person’s body
What three factors influence eating?
- Body (biological)
- Environmental (external forces)
- Brain (biological and psychological)
What are the body’s two modes of energy storage?
- Short-term - glucose (less important for intake)
- Long-term - fat (more important for intake)
What does the leptin hormone do?
It suppresses appetite by releasing CRH (corticotrophin) in the brain.
What two sensory factors drives food intake?
- Flavour - a combination of taste, smell and touch
- Sensory-specific satiety - the more we eat a specific food the more our desire for it declines –> this drives dietary variety (the body will naturally crave foods that, when combined, provide a balance of nutrients)
How do digestive organs influence our appetite?
The stomach and the gut engage in certain bodily processes that produce signals which are communicated to the brain.
See flow chart for breakdown (Wk 3 Content)
What do the Ghrelin and CCK hormones do?
Both these hormones communicate with the hypothalamus to moderate appetite.
Ghrelin - communicates with the hypothalamus to increase hunger. It is released by an empty stomach which stimulates the neuropeptide Y (NY) to stimulate appetite.
CCK - counteracts Ghrelin to decrease hunger
How do neurochemicals impact appetite?
The dopamine and serotonin neurochemicals work together to suppress appetite.
What is an eating disorder?
An internalising disorder that includes behaviours exhibiting severe and persistent disturbance in eating behaviours and associated with distressing thoughts and emotions.
What are the roles of the lateral and ventromedial hypothalamus?
Lateral hypothalamus - initiates eating
Ventromedial (lower middle) hypothalamus - stops eating
