To Eat or Not to Eat 1

To Eat or Not to Eat

By: Tammy Poe
Axia University of Phoenix
May 15, 2010










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Hello class, I am Tammy your counselor. We will be discussing obesity issues along with
dealing with anorexia issues. Both are very important issues, and I would like to start by
explaining some of the physiological factors that causes people to eat or not eat. Most of us like
sweet, salty, and fatty foods because they taste good and most of these foods are high-energy
foods that contain vitamins and minerals. Each one of us would rather eat foods we prefer, rather
than eat what is good for us.
Many people have to learn how to eat properly when on the go at work, or school, or while
traveling. Those of us who grew up in large families, ate large meals at a certain time everyday
and have come accustomed to this routine. Those of us who lead busy lives usually grab
whatever is in sight or convenient to eat the quickest. This is not good for our bodies, and we do
not get the proper nutrients we need to keep our bodies healthy. Today we are going to learn
about hunger and satiety, and discuss the physiological myths about hunger and satiety, and the
factors that contribute to hunger and satiety.
When we do eat? How do we really know when to eat? When our stomachs growl, or when
headaches or feelings nausea arise, these are symptoms that are called malaise. Are we
influenced by the smell or sight of food? I think so; many of us ask ourselves this question every
day. I would like to talk about premeal hunger, how many of you have experienced attacks of
hunger before a meal? Many people think they need food because their body needs energy.
Each of us needs to understand that eating stresses the body, and before meals our bodys
reserves are in homeostatic balance. As the meal is consumed there is a homeostatic disturbing
influx of fuels into the bloodstream. As meal times approach, the body enters the cephalic phase
and takes action to soften the impact of the impending homeostasis-disturbing influx by releasing
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insulin into the blood which then reduces blood glucose. Most of us experience Pavlovian
conditioning of hunger; thats when the body is expecting food. Everyone has set times when
they eat during the day, and the body learns to adapt to the times when you eat, and expect food.
How much food is in the stomach and the glucose entering the blood can induce satiety signals,
this then inhibits subsequent consumption.
These satiety signals depend on volume and calories per unit volume (nutritive density) of
food. One set-point theory is the appetizer effect; when at a dinner party most of us have
experiences of a weakness of the set-point theory of satiety. Appetizers are served before dinner
and what do you think we do? We automatically think if we eat one appetizer, we will not be as
hungry when our dinner arrives. Not true. We actually feel hungrier because eating the appetizer
elicits the cephalic-phase responses.
Do we eat more when we are alone or with friends or family? Most of us refrain ourselves
from eating too much in front of others. We are afraid what others may think if we eat too much.
Society plays a huge role in obesity and anorexia today. Especially for women, there is an image
of how we should look, and this affects how much and when to eat, and it can cause depression
in many young girls.
We are offered a variety of foods that tastes differently, and sometimes we require a taste for
a certain food such as a Snickers; the positive-incentive value of the Snickers will decline
overtime. However, the positive-incentive value of that particular food declines and we become
satiated with the Snickers and stop eating them. Furthermore, if we are offered another type of
candy bar, we would most likely eat it. Our sensory-specific satiety has two consequences; first,
encourages consumption of a varied diet, which could lead to malnutrition because a person
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would only eat what they prefer to eat and nothing else. Second, people tend to eat more when
they have access to a variety of food, and a person that has eaten enough of one of type food will
eat again if offered a different type of food.
Now that I have briefly explained the set-points and positive-incentive, and some eating-
related facts, lets look at the myths of hypothalamic hunger and satiety centers. One myth was
that eating behaviors are controlled by two different regions of the hypothalamus; satiety by the
ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) and feeding by the lateral hypothalamus (LH). This theory is
not true, and suggested that large bilateral electrolytic lesions to the VMH actually produced
excessive eating (hyperphagia) and extreme obesity. The VMH syndrome has two phases:
dynamic and static. The dynamic phase begins as soon as a person regains consciousness after
surgery, and the person experiences weeks of excessive eating which causes rapid weight gain.
However, over time a persons consumption gradually lowers to a level that maintains a
stable level of obesity. This is where the static phase begins. The lateral hypothalamus (LH)
syndrome has two phases as well. Bilateral electrolytic lesions to the lateral hypothalamus
produce aphagia, which means a complete cessation of eating. This is followed by adipsia, a
complete cessation of drinking. Hypothalamus is the primary role in the regulation of energy
metabolism, and not the regulation of eating.
Bilateral VMH lesions increase blood insulin levels, which increases lipogenesis, in other
words the production of body fat and the breakdown of body fat to utilizable forms of energy
(lipolysis). Another myth is when the stomach is empty a person will experience their stomach
contracting. The gastrointestinal tract in satiety is believed to play a role in hunger and satiety.
People who have their stomachs removed and their esophagus hooked up directly to their
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duodenums still had feelings of hunger and satiety and could continue to maintain their normal
body weight by eating smaller meals more often. Hunger and satiety peptides; a chemical
released as amino acids. These peptides function as hormones and neurotransmitters.
Foods that are ingested interact with receptors in the gastrointestinal tract and cause the tract
to release peptides into the bloodstream. Cholecystokinin (CCK) is a peptide that provides the
brain with information about the quantity and nature of the food in the gastrointestinal tract
which also plays a role in satiety. Serotonin and satiety is a monoaminergic neurotransmitter that
plays a role in satiety as well. Serotonin actually reduces ones hunger, eating, and body weight.
Lets look at the three fundamental aspects of many set-point theories of body weight regulation.
How about the variability of body weight? Set-points theories of body weight regulation
suggest that in order to maintain our body weight, we should eat when we feel hungry. When we
feel hungry and we do eat, this method is to defend the set point. What about listening to the
wisdom of our body? Many of us will eat as much as we need to satisfy our feelings of hunger.
This myth is far from the truth, you do not have to eat every time you feel hungry. There is ad
libitum or free-feeding which is unhealthy.
Perhaps people who eat less tend to eat healthier diets. The second kind is calorie-restriction
experiments; one group of people is allowed to eat as much as they desire, and the other group
has their calorie intake of the same diets substantially reduced. The results have proven that
reductions in the caloric intake of balanced diets have improved numerous indices of health and
increased longevity. Regulation of body weight by changes in efficiency of energy utilization is
changing the efficiency which uses energy. As our level of body fat declines, we begin to use
energy resources more efficiently, which limits more weight loss.
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On the other hand, weight gain is limited by a progressive decrease in the efficiency of
energy utilization. Anorexia and bulimia nervosa is a disease that can cause you to develop
health issues within your body. People develop avoidance to foods, or try to avoid foods all
together. Some will use alternatives such as laxatives to help them lose weight, or self-induced
vomiting. With that said, I would like to open the floor to any question you may have.
Lindsey asked: My parents were both obese, is that why I am? Yes, many parents will feed
their children the same foods they eat; some parents promote excessive eating, and some people
have strong cephalic-phase responses to the sight or smell of food. The environment your parents
lived in has a lot to do with being obese; if your parents did not exercise, you will more likely
not practice exercising neither. You are not obese because your parents are; you are obese
because of your eating habits your parents taught you, and the lack of exercise you get.
Robert asked: My girlfriend and I eat together all of the time, so we eat the same food and
amounts of food, but she never gains weight like I do. Why is that? Probably because your
energy intake has exceeded your energy output, and your girlfriends energy intake has not
exceeded her energy output. We are all different and our bodies energy output is also different
from one another. The amount of exercise you both get also is a factor to why you may gain
weight and your girlfriend does not. One factor you may not realize is called NEAT or
nonexercise activity thermogenesis, which means activities such as fidgeting, holding ones
posture and muscle tone, can help increase ones energy intake.
Nancy asked: My mom says that I became anorexic because Ive been reading too many
Cosmo magazines and want to look like those girls. Maybe I did, but I really just dont crave
food. What do you think it is? Well Nancy, I think magazines such as Cosmo do send the wrong
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message to young girls today. First of all with you saying you do not crave food is a sign of
anorexia nervosa. Our culture today influences young adults to stay slim, and in order to fit in to
a group, you may feel you need to be thin.
Some young girls also develop bulimia nervosa, which means they will display fasting,
bingeing, and purging. I think you should eat healthier foods and not try to look like someone
else, and not worry about what others think you should look like. We are all different, and that is
what makes each and every one of us unique. Being anorexic can cause health problems and
some are dangerous to your body.
Tyra asked: I dont eat because every time I do, I just feel sick! Do you know why this is?
Well this could be anorexia and positive incentives. What that means is the positive-incentive on
eating has declined. Not having an interest in food tells me you are becoming if not already
anorexic and you may not see it. Try eating foods high in energy, or eat foods that do not make
you feel bloated, or make you feel sick. You also could have one time in your life experienced
starvation. This could cause you to feel sick when eating as well.
I would like to leave today thinking that all of you will get better educated about obesity and
anorexia. Go to your family doctor and ask for help, you will get the proper information just for
your needs. I thank you all for listening and good luck.





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References

Pinel 2007. Retrieved 15, May 2010.