Hunger Motivation

As a part of human nature, it is natural and, also, necessary for people to eat. The desire to eat has been challenged by researchers inquiring if it is the stomach, brain, or some other stimuli that creates hunger (Hara, 1997). For example, a child is born with a desire to drink his or her mother’s milk, but what exactly makes this child crave the milk? Hunger can be attributed to both psychological and physiological aspects. The physiology of hunger has been explored in several varying theories, but several of these theories have been proven inaccurate and, therefore, have been rebuked. The stomach contraction theory states that we know we are hungry when our stomach contracts, but this theory does not explain why people without stomachs continue to feel hungry. The glucose theory presents the idea that we feel hungry when our glucose level is low, but it has been found that blood glucose levels do not differ under normal conditions. The insulin level theory indicates that we feel hungry when the insulin level in our bodies increases; however, this theory requires humans to eat to increase insulin levels, which in turn makes them hungry. Perhaps the most accurate theories are the fatty acid theory and the heat-production theory. The fatty acid theory indicates that we have fatty acid receptors, and when these receptors are activated, when there is an increase in the fatty acid levels, we feel hungry. The heat-production theory states that as our bodies change temperatures we feel differences in our hunger patterns. For example, the drop in our body temperature makes us feel hungrier, and the rise in our body temperature makes us less hungry. (Hara, 1997) Beyond the physiology of hunger, there is a psychological aspect that derives from social and cultural influences of eating. People eat at certain times of the day, because