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Counterregulation of Eating

Definition

Counterregulation of eating refers to a situation in which an individual eats more after having eaten something previously than after having eaten nothing at all. This pattern of intake runs contrary to the regulation (or compensatory, reduced eating) that we would normally expect and thus is referred to as counterregulation.

History and Background

As with many living systems, our food consumption is regulated, in that when we take in too few calories, we experience hunger, which tends to make us eat to restore the caloric deficiency; and when we ingest too many calories, we tend to feel full and cut back on our food intake. Sometimes it seems that eating is not very well regulated, because overindulgence does not always lead to compensatory undereating. Still, the debate ...

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