Research

Hormonal

Consumption of palatable food (rich in fat and sugar) disrupts normal appetite regulation by simultaneously up-regulating hunger signals and blunting the physiological response to satiety signals, thereby overriding homeostatic energy balance.

To manage weight, recognize that foods high in fat and sugar biologically disrupt your hunger and satiety signals. They increase hunger peptides (like NPY) and decrease the effectiveness of satiety signals (like Leptin and CCK). This is not just a lack of willpower; it is a hormonal override. Reducing the intake of these specific palatable foods is necessary to restore normal appetite regulation.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Palatable food, i.e. food rich in fat and sugar, up-regulates the expression of hunger signals and satiety signals, at the same time blunting the response to satiety signals and activating the reward system. Hence, palatable food offsets normal appetite regulation, which may explain the increasing problem of obesity worldwide.
Charlotte Erlanson‐Albertsson · Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology · 2005

Why this rating

The paper is a MiniReview citing multiple animal and human studies, but it synthesizes existing literature rather than presenting new primary clinical trial data.

Source

How Palatable Food Disrupts Appetite Regulation

Charlotte Erlanson‐Albertsson · Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology · 2005

DOI 10.1111/j.1742-7843.2005.pto_179.x

narrative_reviewCited 326×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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