Certainly, evidence on the ground point that the obesity problem that affects society is largely caused by psychological hunger in which people eat even when they are not hungry just because they like the food. Heshmat's study found that eating too much junk foods that are highly rich in calories is to blame for the rising cases of obesity in society (62) These foods have become popular in fast-food restaurants throughout America the famous ones being McDonald’s, Wendy’s, KFC and Subway among others.
However, experience indicates that people flock to these restaurants to get a bit of burgers and other sweet foods not because they are hungry, but because they just feel like eating such foods. As such, they end up eating these junk foods even when they are full and in the process, they end up adding a lot of weight that later impacts negatively on their lives. This is supported by Collins et al study that found that people with obesity are more responsive to external cues and less responsive to internal cues than the rest (21).
As such, they are more likely to eat food even when they do not feel hunger and this normally triggers weight gain.In fact, a study conducted by researchers from the University of Cambridge dispelled the notion that obesity is genetic. In this study, the researchers found that most obesity is caused by the fact that Americans eat too much food. This study has been supported by others that show that most Americans tend to finish the food on their plates even when they are already satisfied. CDC (2016) study also found that American food portions are larger than that of France.
Based on this study, CDC concluded that it is because Americans eat too much that the country has more than 35% of adults with obesity when French obesity prevalence stands only at about 7%. Braet also found that American candy bars are 41% larger while its soft drinks are about 52% larger while cartons of yogurt are 82% larger compared to those in France (Braet 154). This is reason enough to show that obesity in America has to do with the fact that Americans eat too much, which is attached to psychological hunger considering that they eat even when their stomachs are full just for pleasure and because they like the cuisines.
When people consume too much food then the body can burn due to psychological hunger, the rest are being stored as fat and this is what triggered a faster weight increase that eventually results in obesity. When somebody eats when he/she does not feel any hunger, this implies that eating at such a time only means that the body is taking more than it needs and this is a recipe for weight increase and obesity.Psychological hunger is triggered by many sources, which include stress, depression, anger, boredom, and emotional needs among other factors.
As such, when a person is overcome by these triggers, anxiety, and emotional hunger sets in that result in bad eating habits that only make them add more weight (Yau, and Marc 256). For instance, Meule and Vögele observed that high levels of anxiety or depression can force a person to seek junk foods, not because they are feeling hungry, but just as a means of comfort (par. 4). According to Van den Akker et al., when people are stressed up, they look for a means of getting comfort, and foods such as junk that have positive effects on the brain’s reward center make most people go for junk foods (355).
In the process, they end up eating large quantities of junk foods even when they are food, thereby resulting in weight gain.Besides, if all people were eating healthily when hungry and eating the required quantity that the body demands, then people would have a lean and healthy weight since there would be no excess food supplied in the body that would be transformed into fat (Stern, and Kazaks 39). This way, society would live a healthy life without weight issues that society is currently grappling with within different parts of the world.
Critics, however, claim that psychological hunger has no role in obesity. Among the prominent critics of psychological hunger in obesity is Van den Akker et al. who argues that obesity does not cause hunger (357).
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