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Abstract
Eating is often described as a simple response to hunger, but everyday food choices are shaped by a much richer conversation between the gastrointestinal tract and the brain. The gut–brain axis integrates mechanical distension, nutrients, gut hormones, microbial metabolites, vagal signals and central reward pathways to influence hunger, satiation, satiety and food preference. This narrative review presents a human-centred view of how that communication may help explain why people sometimes eat when
they are not physiologically hungry, stop eating before energy needs are fully restored, or find highly palatable foods unusually difficult to resist.
References
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