People’s desire to consume food to satisfy internal desires.
More than one-third of the U.S. population is obese. To be
classified as obese, an individual must have a body mass index of
30 or higher. 1
Developed by:
Dakoda Leid
Maddie Wilhide
Taylor Troutman
The main components of hunger regulation are; Maslow’s Theory, the amygdala
and the Attachment theory.
3
Hungry-satiated Satiated-satiated
Maslow’s Theory2 states
physiological needs
(most basic level) have
to be met before the
individual can progress
up the hierarchy.
Maslow’s theory
consist of satisfying
basic needs first. The
basic needs consist of
hunger, thirst, sleep,
and sex.
The individuals continue to eat
until the amygdala is no longer
stimulated. (Satisfying Maslow’s
first level).
Hungry-satiated
Satiated-satiated
The amygdala controls
emotions. As seen above,
hungry individuals have an
increased amygdala activity
when exposed to visual
stimuli, creating the desire to
eat more.
The second level
consists of safety.
Including: shelter,
comfort, and
clothing.
Attachment Theory4 states
that individuals who have
bad relationships have
more negative emotions
driving them to eat as a
coping mechanism.
The third level is
belongingness which
includes love and
friends.
Individuals suppress negative
emotions through the use of coping
mechanisms. A prevalent
mechanism is emotional eating.
When individuals have poor
relationships, this level is not
fulfilled.
The amygdala is
stimulated increasing
negative emotion.
In general, obese people have an increased amygdala activity, mentally
deceiving the body into believing it must consume more food. Consuming
more calories than needed puts people at a greater risk to suffer from
obesity.
1. Obesity Information. (2014, February 27). Obesity Information. Retrieved April 29, 2014, from
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/WeightManagement/Obesity/ObesityInformation_UCM_307908_Article.jsp
2 Pettijohn, T., & Ahmed, S. (2012). Hunger and Social Motivation: Hungry People are Less
Interested in Social Activities than Satiated People. Current Psychology, 31(1), 1-5.
doi:10.1007/s12144-012-9127-4
3. LaBar, K. S., & Mesulam, M. (2001). Hunger selectively modulates corticolimbic activation to
food stimuli in humans. Behavioral Neuroscience, 115(2), 493-500. doi:10.1037/0735-7044.115.2.493
4. Alexander, K. E., & Siegel, H. I. (2013). Perceived hunger mediates the relationship between
attachment anxiety and emotional eating. Eating Behaviors, 374-377