GLOSSARY

Appetite Control coordinates signals and behaviors influencing eating.

Appetite is desire to eat, distinct from hunger, gastric fullness and actual energy requirements. Satiety concerns suppression between meals, whereas satiation helps end the current meal. A person can feel full while still under-fueled. Recording sensations, actual intake and activity timing together supports planning better than drawing conclusions from one sensation or hormone; subjective scales and food records measure different aspects rather than interchangeable biological quantities.

Eating responds to biological needs and to taste, availability, habit, emotion and reward. Craving a particular food is not a deficiency test for that food's nutrients. Hedonic and homeostatic influences can coexist rather than forming separate behaviors. In sport, restrictive eating, poor sleep or long meal gaps may also affect desire. Assessment should avoid moral labels and consider actual intake patterns rather than assigning every craving to one hormone.

Nutrient entry, gastric distension and neural and hormonal signals jointly regulate eating. GLP-1, PYY and CCK are important, but one blood rise cannot precisely predict later intake. Molecular form, receptor and vagal or central routes matter. In athletes, strong fullness from low-energy bulky meals can make adequate fueling difficult, so portions and timing should fit actual demand and tolerance rather than pursuing maximal appetite suppression.