The Reasons Why Some People Are Always Hungry

Are you always hungry? It could be a manifestation of anxiety or stress. However, there are many other reasons why your appetite is never satisfied. Today's article will explain why it happens and how to identify the causes.

Written and verified by the doctor Leonardo Biolatto.

Last update: 27 May, 2022

Are you always hungry? Do you know someone who’s always hungry?

Your appetite has probably changed throughout your life and there are times when you’re always hungry. Then, there may be moments in which you hardly think about eating — or you just don’t make it a priority. Do you ever wonder why this happens?

It’s not unusual to wonder why. This is because there are stages in which some of us spend most of the day thinking about food. Surely, it’s difficult to control the urge to eat all day long. It’s definitely a serious problem we must take care of.

Hunger is a physiological, instinctive desire, to eat. Thus, it allows us to save energy and be able to survive. Not only that, it’s a sensation that involves many factors and substances. It’s a multifactorial sensation, in other words.

When hunger gets out of control it isn’t about meeting a need but could actually be pathological. Today’s article will explain the most common causes why some of us may always be hungry.

Why are some of us always hungry?

You must understand hunger before we get to the reasons for it. Usually, hunger is a sensation that tells you to eat. This is so the body can function properly.

This sensation happens in the brain and is due to the action of a series of hormones that control both appetite and satiety. Depending on its needs, the human body releases certain substances to stimulate us to eat — or not.

For example, hypoglycemia happens when blood sugar levels are too low. This is because the brain produces the kind of stimuli that makes us feel hungry. Otherwise, the nutrients in food activate the satiety center right after eating.

Why do we sometimes feel hungry right after eating?

One of the most common causes of hunger is anxiety in modern society. In fact, it’s become a worldwide health problem that negatively affects many parts of our daily lives.

You may already know that our common lifestyle isn’t too conducive to health. This is because most diets are just wrong lack nutrients. Hunger can also be a way for the body to express that it’s lacking something, vitamins, for example.

Furthermore, being so hungry may even be logical if you throw the social stimuli to which we’re subjected every day into the picture. For instance, there’s food advertising everywhere. Also, eating is now something we’re supposed to do for pleasure than out of necessity.

As you can see, pretty much everything encourages us to eat. It’s actually quite difficult to distinguish when hunger is due to boredom or anxiety or if our body really needs to eat.

Pathological causes for being always hungry

Certain conditions and situations can increase appetite. For example, many drug treatments produce hunger as a side effect.

Also, let’s highlight the role of diabetes mellitus. It’s a disease in which the body doesn’t synthesize, or cannot use insulin. Guess what the main symptom is! It’s constant hunger.

Also, many psychiatric conditions make you hungry. Bulimia nervosa is one of them — a disease in which a person has an uncontrollable urge to eat. It’s more common in young women and often leads to binge eating.

Also, certain alterations of the thyroid gland, such as hyperthyroidism due to Graves’ disease, can manifest this way. It’s for this reason that it’s important to consult a doctor if you’ve been having issues with always feeling hungry.

In conclusion

Being hungry is something relatively normal in modern society. However, it’s a situation that requires further research, although there’s usually a remedy.

Note that it’s important to control the possible diseases that can cause it. Finally, there are techniques to learn to recognize the situation and be able to control the impulse if the cause is stress, anxiety, or boredom.