Are Food Choices More Indulgent When People Are Hungry?

Listen to this Article

  • A study published in the Frontiers in Nutrition reported an association between how hungry a person is and the likelihood of making indulgent rather than virtuous food choices.
  • This association was only present in individuals not concerned about healthy eating.
  • The association was also present in individuals who did not practice a healthy lifestyle.

Having enough fresh air, food, and water is essential for survival. Living organisms are generally hard-wired to prioritize these resources. Anyone who has observed animals while eating is very familiar with how excited they can get when given food, particularly if they have not eaten for some time. In humans, the need for food, water, shelter, and other resources needed to survive physically is at the very foundation of the classic Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (e.g., Ryan et al., 2020). This hierarchy proposes that all higher needs, such as love, respect, self-actualization, and even basic safety, become inactive when the basic needs required for physical survival are not satisfied. Because of this, it should not come as a surprise that our behavior changes when we are hungry.

 

All higher needs, such as love, respect, self-actualization, and even basic safety, become inactive when the basic needs are required for physical survival

 

Hunger changes the way we behave
There are ample examples from disaster or war-stricken areas of people exposing their lives to extreme risk or completely forfeiting dignity or material wealth to procure food when they do not have it. There are many historical reports of people even resorting to cannibalism in the face of starvation, people from cultures where cannibalism is one of the strongest taboos (e.g., Herrmann, 2011; MacKenzie, 2023).

However, these are situations of extreme hunger and starvation. But do mild, everyday levels of hunger we experience from time to time in modern, developed societies with sufficient access to food also change our behavior? For example, what hunger levels do we experience when we skip or postpone a meal due to work obligations or because we spend time doing things we are interested in and have not yet found time to eat? Research studies indicate that they do.

How do everyday levels of hunger change behavior?
So far, studies in humans show that, when hungry, people tend to become restless, nervous, and irritable. Feelings of hunger are associated with behavioral difficulties in children (Hedrih, 2023). Low blood glucose levels, known to trigger the sensation of hunger, are associated with increased impulsivity, anger, and aggression (Swami et al., 2022).

To explain these behavioral changes, scientists have proposed the concept of ego depletion. This concept suggests that the human capacity for self-regulation and active volition is limited (Baumeister et al., 1998), so when a person is hungry, he/she may struggle to exercise self-regulation and self-control making displays of negative and high-arousal emotions more likely (Hedrih, 2023).

 

When a person is hungry, he/she may struggle to exercise self-regulation and self-control

 

These findings and casual observations have even given rise to the term “hangry.” “Hangry” is a combination of “hungry” and angry” and describes a state when a person is hungry and angry due to hunger (Hedrih, 2023; Swami et al., 2022).

The current study
Author and his colleagues wanted to explore whether hungry people are more prone to indulgent food choices. Previous studies indicate this might be the case, but these researchers also wanted to identify some of the factors that this link might depend on (Otterbring et al., 2024). They hypothesized that hungrier individuals would be more inclined to make indulgent food choices, but this would depend on their concern for healthy eating and lifestyle.

The study participants were 461 undergraduate students from a Northern European university. Their average age was 22, and 49% were female. The study authors recruited them in the vicinity of a university cafeteria. They conducted interviews at different times of day to obtain higher individual differences in how hungry the students were when they answered the researchers’ questions.

In an interview, these researchers would present a participating student (verbally) with a set of 8 binary food choices and ask them to select the food item that appeals to them the most. In each choice, students had to choose between a “virtuous” and an “indulgent” food option. Virtuous food options were foods considered to be healthy rather than tasty. Indulgent food options were foods that were primarily consumed for their immediate pleasure but that were typically unhealthy. For example, one such choice was between a food salad and a chocolate cake.

Students made their choice on a 7-point rating scale ranging from definitive preference for the first item (virtuous, i.e., healthy) to definitive preference for the second item (indulgent). They also completed a brief assessment of their current hunger. At the end of the survey, students completed brief assessments of their concerns about healthy eating and adherence to a healthy lifestyle (see Figure 1).

 

%learn about nutrition mental health %The Center for Nutritional Psychology Figure 1. Study Procedure (Otterbring, 2024).

 

Hungry students tended to make more indulgent choices
Results showed a weak link between hunger and indulgent food choices. Students who were hungrier at the time of the interview were more likely to choose indulgent food options. Those more concerned about healthy eating chose indulgent foods less often.

Additional analyses revealed that only the students who were not as concerned with healthy eating showed a heightened preference for indulgent foods when hungry. This link was absent in students who were highly concerned about healthy eating. Similarly, the link between hunger and the preference for indulgent food options was only present in students who reported not practicing a healthy lifestyle (see Figure 2).

 

%learn about nutrition mental health %The Center for Nutritional Psychology

Figure 2. The link between hunger and food choice

 

Conclusion
The study confirmed a link between hunger and the propensity to choose indulgent (i.e., unhealthy) foods. However, it also added to the existing scientific knowledge by showing that this link was produced primarily by individuals who were not very concerned about the healthiness of their food choices and did not adhere to a healthy lifestyle.

These findings indicate that raising awareness about the importance of healthy eating and adherence to a healthy lifestyle could make people less likely to choose unhealthy foods and prevent them from switching to indulgent foods when experiencing hunger (at everyday levels).

However, additional studies are needed to verify the feasibility of this mechanism, as the current study’s design does not allow cause-and-effect conclusions to be derived from the findings.

The paper “The impact of hunger on indulgent food choices is moderated by healthy eating concerns” was authored by Tobias Otterbring, Michał Folwarczny, and Agata Gasiorowska.

You can also watch our Diet-Mental Health Break #43 video on YouTube: Are People More Likely to Choose Indulgent Foods When Hungry?

 

References

Baumeister, R. F., Bratslavsky, E., Muraven, M., & Tice, D. M. (1998). Ego depletion: Is the active self a limited resource? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(5), 1252–1265. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.74.5.1252

Hedrih, V. (2023). Food and Mood: Is the Concept of ‘Hangry’ Real? CNP Articles in Nutritional Psychology. https://www.nutritional-psychology.org/food-and-mood-is-the-concept-of-hangry-real/

Herrmann, R. B. (2011). The “tragicall historie”: Cannibalism and Abundance in Colonial Jamestown. The William and Mary Quarterly, 68(1), 47–74. https://doi.org/10.5309/willmaryquar.68.1.0047

MacKenzie, H. L. (2023). ‘Desperate with hunger’: Food, Eating, and Cannibalism in. The University of Leeds, Institute for Medieval Studies.

Otterbring, T., Folwarczny, M., & Gasiorowska, A. (2024). The impact of hunger on indulgent food choices is moderated by healthy eating concerns. Frontiers in Nutrition, 11, 1377120. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2024.1377120

Ryan, B. J., Coppola, D., Canyon, D. V., Brickhouse, M., & Swienton, R. (2020). COVID-19 Community Stabilization and Sustainability Framework: An Integration of the Maslow Hierarchy of Needs and Social Determinants of Health. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 14(5), 623–629. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2020.109

Swami, V., Hochstöger, S., Kargl, E., & Stieger, S. (2022). Hangry in the field: An experience sampling study on the impact of hunger on anger, irritability, and affect. PLOS ONE, 17(7), e0269629. https://doi.org/10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0269629

 

 

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.