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How does your body know you're full? - Hilary Coller

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Hunger claws at your belly. It tugs at your intestines, which begin to writhe, aching to be fed. Being hungry generates a powerful and often unpleasant physical sensation that’s almost impossible to ignore. After you’ve reacted by gorging on your morning pancakes, you start to experience an opposing force: fullness. But how does your body actually know when you’re full? Hilary Coller explains.


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About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Hilary Coller
  • Director Sashko Danylenko
  • Script Editor Emma Bryce
  • Animator Oleh Shcherba
  • Editor Kasia Zabavko
  • Storyboard Artist Sashko Danylenko
  • Sound Designer Sashko Danylenko
  • Associate Producer Jessica Ruby
  • Content Producer Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
Additional Resources for you to Explore
Who doesn’t love to eat? TED-Ed has many more lessons on the topic of food, digestion, and the biology of it all. Try these two lessons to start out with: How the food you eat affects your brain and How the food you eat affects your gut!

Next, think about what you are eating with these TED-Ed lessons on the topics of sugar and carbohydrates.

What are your eating habits like? See what some of the side effects of eating fast are in this video: Why You Shouldn’t Eat Too Fast. Visit this link to find out what happens when you snack late at night. Finally, find out What Happens When You Stop Eating. For more scientific articles on this specific lesson, visit these links:

The Vagus Nerve, Food Intake and Obesity

Regulation of Leptin Production in Humans

Normalizing Eating Behavior Reduces Body Weight and Improves Gastrointestinal Hormonal Secretion in Obese Adolescents

A Satiety Index of Common Foods

Tension and Stretch Receptors in Gastrointestinal Smooth Muscle: Re-evaluating Vagal Mechanoreceptor Electrophysiology

Network of Hypothalamic Neurons that Control Appetite

Gastrointestinal Hormones and Food Intake

Pancreatic Signals Controlling Food Intake; Insulin, Glucagon and Amylin

Customize this lesson

Create and share a new lesson based on this one.

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Hilary Coller
  • Director Sashko Danylenko
  • Script Editor Emma Bryce
  • Animator Oleh Shcherba
  • Editor Kasia Zabavko
  • Storyboard Artist Sashko Danylenko
  • Sound Designer Sashko Danylenko
  • Associate Producer Jessica Ruby
  • Content Producer Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
  • Narrator Addison Anderson

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