Hallmarks of Appetite: A Comprehensive Review of Hunger, Appetite, Satiation, and Satiety

The present review describes the available literature on the physiologic mechanisms that modulate hunger, appetite, satiation, and satiety with a particular focus on well-established and emerging factors involved in the classic satiety cascade model.

Obesity is a significant risk factor for numerous chronic conditions like cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes. As excess energy intake is considered by some to be the primary driver of weight gain, tremendous collective effort should be directed toward reducing excessive feeding at the individual and population levels. From this perspective, detailed understanding of physiologic mechanisms that control appetite, and in turn, the design of effective interventions to manage appetite, may represent key strategies in controlling the obesity epidemic. With the obesity's prevalence on the rise worldwide, research on hunger, appetite, satiation and satiety is more relevant than ever. This research aims to provide practical insights for medical practitioners, nutrition professionals, and the broader scientific community in the fight against this global health challenge.