1. Hormones Impacting Food Seeking Behavior
Lori Thompson

2. Selected Hormone Actions on Food Intake -
Concentration in body
Origin
Action
Ghrelin
Increases between meals based on previously consumed volume of food
Stomach
Stimulates appetite
Leptin
Higher in obesity, but cells may be resistant
Adipose Tissue
Suppresses appetite, increases energy expenditure
PYY
Lower in obesity, increases after a meal
Small intestine
Suppresses appetite
Neuropeptide Y
Increases between meals, triggered by falling blood glucose levels
Hypothalamus
Stimulates appetite particularly carbohydrate cravings, promotes energy storage as fat
Adiponectin
Higher in obesity
Primarily visceral fat stores
Increases insulin sensitivity

3. Hormonal Control of Food Intake
Determined by:
Genetic instructions
Body’s fat mass
Body’s lean tissues
Amount/volume of food in previous meal
Sensitivity of hormone receptor sites
Macronutrients entering small intestine
Food intake influenced by input from nervous system
Stomach’s stretch receptors
Afferent sensory fibers from mouth, eyes, nose, etc. trigger a reward cascade that releases dopamine

4. More information on this topic
Many peer-reviewed journal articles on this topic. One good article can be found at:
Morton, G. J., Cummings, D. E., Baskin, D. G., Barsh, G. S.,
& Schwartz, M. W. (2006). Central nervous system control of
food intake and body weight. Nature, 443(21),