Janet Ogundepo
Compulsive eating, which is the constant desire to consume food despite being satiated could be caused by adverse reactions to medications used to treat mental illness and stress, medical experts have said.
They, however, warned that impulsive eating can cause weight gain and other health issues.
The experts in separate interviews with PUNCH Healthwise noted that the sight of highly palatable foods could trigger the desire to eat despite being full.
According to WebMD, an online health portal, compulsive overeating is a type of behavioural addiction.
The World Health Organisation stated that more than 1.9 billion adults are overweight.
The WHO described overweight and obesity as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that poses a threat to health.
A professor of Human Physiology, Eme Osim, noted that the desire to continuously eat despite not being hungry was due to the stimulation of a nucleus in the brain.
He explained that the feeling of hunger and loss of appetite is controlled by the hypothalamus, a part of the brain which is the body’s smart control coordinating centre.
“There are two types of nuclei, one is lateral hypothalamic nuclei. This is what makes people eat and it is also called the hunger centre of the brain. So when these nuclei are stimulated in the brain, the person would keep on eating without stopping.
“The other is ventromedial hypothalamic nuclei of the brain. If this is stimulated, one would not want to eat and feel satisfied even though the body needs food, leaving the person to emaciate,” he said.
Osim, a specialist in neuroscience and gastrointestinal physiology, further explained that this eating disorder could be stimulated by mechanisms such as the side effects of some drugs.
The don also said that the emotional state of a person’s mind contributes to the desire to eat when not hungry.
“For instance, drugs for psychiatric illnesses don’t only calm the users down. It makes them eat and eat and that is why people battling with mental illnesses are fat. So whenever the drug stimulates the hunger centre in the brain, it forces patients to eat and keep on eating even though they don’t want to eat,” Osim added.
He went on to explain that when the reward or pleasure centre of the brain is stimulated, it brings about happiness, relaxation and the desire to eat.
The physiologist, however, stated that fear and anxiety create appetite loss due to the increase in blood pressure, heart rate and bowel movements.
He further noted that the indiscriminate eating disorder is treatable, noting that there are medications to correct appetite loss and the continuous desire to eat.
Osim asserted that the consequence of overeating was obesity, which is quite harmful to health.
On her part, a Professor of Gastrointestinal Physiology at the University of Calabar, Cross River State, Agona Obembe, also pointed out that the sight or smell of a fine meal could also trigger the desire to eat when not hungry.
“The aroma of food, especially when passing by an eatery and imagining how sweet the meal could be can make the mouth water and increase the desire to eat even when not hungry,” she added.
Meanwhile, a study conducted by a researcher, Ciaran Forde on ‘Flavour perception and satiation’, and published by Science Direct, stated that food odours have an influence on food choices and portion selection, and promote the desire to consume certain foods.
“Even when satiated, the sight or smell of a desirable food can stimulate appetite,” the study stated.
If further stated that on the other hand, the loss of feeling hungry, the don stated, could be caused by underlying health conditions like HIV/AIDS, infections, cancer, side effects of medication like those on chemotherapy and the use of antibiotics.
Obembe added that emotional changes like grief, anxiety, stress, depression and anorexia nervosa (a condition caused by an individual suppressing hunger by consciously rejecting food) could cause loss of appetite.
She urged persons with an increased desire to eat to get counselling and visit a dietician for a healthy meal plan.
The Physiologist advised individuals with hunger or appetite loss to “force themselves to eat in bits, take Intravenous fluids in terrible cases, use appetite stimulating drugs, especially in the case of HIV/AIDS patients, or to see a dietician for a meal plan.”
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