Abstract
Eating behaviors arise from a combination of several factors namely, physiological, emotional, social and genetic, including the prevailing state of the environment that the individual has been exposed to from the commencement of development. Several factors are known to affect the control of eating behaviors, distinguishable by the synergism of the homeostatic and hedonic control mechanisms, which are complementary. While undeniably homeostasis is under the control of the hormonal interchange between the intestine and the brain, the desire to eat is focused on the brain reward system, which includes acquisition and addictions and binge eating. In today's world, the easy availability of processed foods, high in sugars and fats, which stimulate the reward areas, can flood the brain with neurotransmitters linked to pleasure and happiness. This often results in an uncontrollable desire to eat, technically termed hedonic hunger. A presentation of an integrated perspective of the mechanisms involved in the control of hedonic eating behavior is given. It is crucial to understand these mechanisms, particularly paying attention to the ways the modern food environment induces excessive consumption and its contributions to the present obesity epidemic.
Highlights
Right through human history, the human body has utilized the adaptive mechanism of eating and consuming calories in response to the depletion of energy stores (Lowe & Levine, 2005)
Homeostasis is controlled by hormonal stimuli that dialogue with the intestine and the brain, the act of eating goes beyond maintaining the energy balance (Lowe & Levine, 2005)
As it is a bibliographic analysis on the hedonic control of eating behavior and understanding on the subject, articles indexed in the Pubmed database were retrieved
Summary
The human body has utilized the adaptive mechanism of eating and consuming calories in response to the depletion of energy stores (Lowe & Levine, 2005). The constant availability and frequent consumption of highly palatable foods, adverse experiences in the early stages of development and emotional triggers inherent in the modern routines of life are the catalysts for the mechanisms of hedonic control of eating behavior (Lowe & Levine, 2005; Rodrigues et al, 2021). The involvement, of the dopaminergic, serotonergic, and opioid system has been noted in the motivational and hedonic characteristics of food (Barry et al, 2018; Berridge et al, 2009; Hernandez et al, 2021) From these results, it has emerged that despite eating being possibly among the most fundamental and primitive behaviors of humanity, its complex and continuous evolution cause the neural circuits that control it to remain obscure. Clear understanding of the physiological and psychological constituents that influence appetite is crucial to comprehend the pharmacological targets of the present therapies and thereby suggest new objectives and mediating actions that can assist in controlling the strong hedonic effects and coping with life in the modern days obesogenic conditions
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