Appetite Regulation In Children – A Current Topic In Today’s World

Appetite is something we are born with. But our environment and the access we have to food changes our ability to feel it. This is something that we can see in today’s high incidence of diseases such as obesity, diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver, etc. Therefore, it is important to understand how appetite regulation works and how we can help children regulate their appetite.

Through appetite regulation in children, children are helped to learn to recognize the body’s signals of hunger, which helps their bodies to function properly. Want to learn more about this? Keep reading!

What is appetite?

Appetite can be defined in two different ways according to the journal Biology and the Swedish Academy’s dictionary. On the one hand, it is the instinctive drive to meet the body’s energy needs. In other words, this is the need to eat.

At the same time, it is a set of physiological, psychological and environmental processes that determine our eating patterns. In short, what, how much and how we eat. This is the  desire to eat.

Our appetite is regulated by the interaction between these homeostatic and hedonic mechanisms. Lack of energy stimulates the former and the presence of food stimulates the latter.

This interaction, and in an environment where we have quick and easy access to large amounts of food, creates the tendency that the hedonic mechanisms are stimulated, ie that we eat to fill a desire rather than a need. This means that the brain areas linked to pleasure and reward are activated.

As a consequence , children tend to eat without being hungry. Rather, they eat based on the pleasant effects generated by sweets and other snacks. In other words, this is a situation where appetite control in children is important. Below we discuss the most important factors that determine this regulation.

Factors affecting appetite regulation in children

To what extent do the genes affect?

When it comes to emotions such as hunger, satiety and satisfaction from eating, 60-80% are dependent on genes, as shown in studies on twins. This therefore indicates that appetite is something that is innate, which we mentioned at the beginning. However, we must remember that the opposite is true when it comes to weight – here the role of genetics is 10-20%.

Appetite regulating hormones

This is a very complex process, as the body secretes these hormones depending on the degree of hunger and the stimuli it receives, both internally and externally. Just before we eat, signals from the senses such as sight and smell go to the brain and stomach that we need energy.

On the one hand, we have hormones that are responsible for stimulating hunger, such as ghrelin, which decreases when we eat food. Among other things, children who suffer from obesity have higher levels of this.

The same goes for the secretion of leptin, which is proportional to the amount of body fat. However, leptin inhibits hunger in contrast to ghrelin, so there is a certain resistance to the effects of leptin in the body.

At the same time, hormones such as GLP-1 and neuropeptide YY, which stimulate satiety, intervene. Insulin is a hormone that stands out in particular here, and these levels increase when we consume foods rich in carbohydrates.

If you constantly consume this type of tasty food (rich in fats and sugars), this blocks the satiety core, which leads to eating more and more often. This is also an effect that comes from the body wanting to increase the levels of serotonin and dopamine. They are the ones who generate the feeling of satisfaction.

The impact of the environment on appetite regulation in children

From the 20th century onwards, appetite regulation has become increasingly important due to the great diversity of food we have access to, and due to advertising. Today we can also just go online and click a button to have food delivered to the door. It is therefore not surprising that children may have difficulty controlling themselves. Being constantly exposed to the constant bombardment of food and advertising about food affects them on many levels.

When it comes to advertising , the fact that unhealthy products are sold at low prices and often come with toys that appeal to children, is a factor that can make it difficult to control appetite in children. But also the influence of family, cultural and social behavior is an aggravating factor.

Restaurants and the food industry are not on the lazy side either, which can be seen in the ever-increasing portions and packaging that they offer us. Without thinking about it, it leads us all to eat more.

How to help with appetite regulation in children?

As a result of this loss of hunger and the increase in obesity and other metabolic diseases, different countries have implemented different policies to improve children’s diet. You can help children start eating more balanced by, among other things:

• Activity programs taught by dietitians, nutritionists and other health care professionals. These are based on theoretical and practical exercises.
• Removing vending machines from schools or changing the content to healthier alternatives.
• Implement measures for the food the children eat at school and ensure that the children eat balanced and according to nutritional recommendations.

• Limit age-based advertising.
• Introduce higher taxes on nutrient-poor products (cakes, sweets, soft drinks, chips…).

In conclusion, we would like to remind you that you as a parent should teach your children that certain foods are only eaten on certain occasions and that they do not always have access to them. In addition, you can teach them to pay attention to the body’s hunger signals and to stop eating when they feel full.