Appetite and Food Intake

*This content has been reviewed by Dr. Nick Bellissimo (School of Nutrition, Toronto Metropolitan University); last updated September 2025

Satiety and satiation are two important principles when studying appetite control and food intake regulation

• Understanding Satiation and Satiety. Satiation is the feeling of fullness during a meal that tells you to stop eating, while satiety is what keeps you feeling full until your next meal. 
• Sugars and Appetite Control. When consumed as part of a meal, sugars, like other carbohydrates, help control appetite through a series of brain and hormone signals that regulate food intake. Despite the “sweet tooth” hypothesis, research shows that liking sweet tastes does not lead to overconsuming sugars or increased weight gain.
• Sugars and Addiction. Current research on sugars addiction is focused on animal studies. There is insufficient evidence to support the idea of sugars addiction in humans.

Understanding Satiation and Satiety

When we eat, our body has natural ways of telling us when to stop and when to eat again. Two key concepts in this regulation of food intake are satiation and satiety (1). 

• Satiation is the feeling of fullness while you are eating. Satiation tells you to stop eating and helps determine how much you eat during a meal. 
• Satiety is what keeps you feeling full and satisfied after a meal, delaying your need to eat again. 

Both satiation and satiety are controlled by signals from the brain and hormones that respond to the nutrients in foods. 

Eating food triggers the release of a series of brain signals and hormones that regulate appetite and food intake according to energy needs. Your body responds to the composition of your diet – carbohydrates, fats, proteins – by releasing hormones that ultimately signal you to stop eating (i.e. satiation). This feedback system responds to the overall composition of the diet, rather than any specific nutrient (1). 

How Carbohydrates Impact Satiation and Satiety 

When you eat carbohydrates, including starches and sugars, the body breaks them down into single-sugar units, such as glucose, which are absorbed. This leads to an increase in blood glucose levels, known as the glycemic response (see diagram below). 

• In general, there is a positive association (beneficial) between glycemic response and satiety. 
• In the short term, carbohydrates that lead to a higher glycemic response can reduce food intake at your next meal. 
• This is because the rise in blood glucose levels and release of insulin, as well as other satiety hormones, signal the brain to suppress appetite and reduce food intake. 

Sugars and Appetite Control

The effect of food on appetite control depends on several factors, including 

• the type and amount of macronutrients consumed in the meal, and 
• the time between meals (2, 3). 

Sugars, like other carbohydrates, play a role in the body’s normal hunger and fullness signaling processes, including the glucose-insulin response, that help regulate food intake. Sugars do not bypass regulatory controls of food intake. For example, different sugars, like fructose, glucose, and sucrose, all suppress ghrelin, a hormone that makes you feel hungry, helping to control appetite. 

For more information, see Dr. Bellissimo’s contribution in Carbohydrate News – Sugars and Health: The Current Science (2015). 

Sweet Taste and Appetite

Taste preferences can influence our eating behaviours and food choices, which then affects our overall nutritional intake and health (4-5). 

Most evidence suggests that humans are born with a tendency to like sweet tastes. This natural liking of sweet tastes was inherited from our ancestors, as sweetness suggested that a food was safe to eat. However, we now know that sweet liking is not universal, and individuals differ in their preferences for sweet tastes (6). 

There are specific taste receptors on our tongues that sense different tastes. Sweet taste receptors are typically activated when glucose is present in the mouth, and also respond to other sweet ingredients in foods, like non-nutritive sweeteners. Emerging research has discovered that sweet taste receptors are not only on our tongue, but also in our stomach and gut, however these would not play a role in sweet taste perception (7). Instead, they play a role in regulating food intake through different appetite-regulating hormones (8).

Sweet Preference and Weight 

The “sweet tooth” hypothesis proposes that a strong liking for sweet taste would lead to overconsuming sugars and sweet foods, and therefore lead to increased body weight and obesity. However, this is not supported by the evidence (9-15). Research shows that: 

• People who like intense sweet tastes do not seem to consume significantly more sugars or sweet foods compared to those who do not like sweet tastes, although they may consume slightly more sugars-sweetened beverages;
• A strong liking for sweet taste is not associated with increased body fat or overall body weight;
• Individuals with obesity do not necessarily prefer sugars-containing foods over other palatable foods;
• People who like intense sweet tastes may be more in tune with body signals and hunger cues, and have better eating habits. 

Further research is needed in more diverse populations as well as tracking changes over time.  

Sugars and Addiction

There is a popular belief that sugar can be addictive, similar to a dependency on drugs or alcohol. However, scientific reviews haven’t found evidence of an association between sugars intake in humans and symptoms of addiction such as withdrawal, cravings, or tolerance (16-18).

Eating foods that you enjoy can stimulate the “dopamine reward pathway” in the brain, which is related to pleasurable sensations. This pathway is activated not only by sugars, but also by other stimulants such as pleasurable foods, physical activities, and social events.

Research suggests that a preference for sweet tastes should not be confused with an addiction (16-18): 

• Fasting does not increase cravings for sweet foods as would be expected with an addiction;
• Although humans are genetically determined to like sweetness, individuals differ in how they respond to sweet tastes, and sweet preference declines with age, opposite to what would be expected from the addiction hypothesis;
• All enjoyable foods trigger the release of dopamine; in fact, any pleasant event, even a joke or a smile, causes dopamine release;
• Evidence does not support the idea that binge eating reflects an addiction to sweet foods; rather, a wide range of highly palatable foods are eaten during bingeing.

Therefore, while it is important to understand the mechanisms of eating behaviours, focusing only on sugars as a cause of overeating may overlook other important factors and more beneficial responses.

For more information, additional resources include:

• Carbohydrate News - Sugars and Health: The Current Science (2015)
• Video - "Is Sugar Addictive?" featuring Dr. Nick Bellissimo and registered dietitian Christy Brissette

References

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