For a rare few,
hunger is
overwhelming
A closer look at insatiable hunger
Welcome, and thanks for joining us for “Why am I so hungry? Understanding insatiable hunger.” I’m Jill Garrison, and I’m on the Medical Affairs team at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals. Rhythm is a small biopharmaceutical company that was founded in 2008, and is located in Boston, Massachusetts. At Rhythm, we’re dedicated to transforming the care of individuals living with rare genetic disorders of obesity.
My personal background is in scientific research. I earned my Ph.D. in nutritional and metabolic biology, and for the past 15-plus years, I’ve been studying how the brain regulates body weight and our metabolism. And related to this, I have studied how there are many different factors that can disrupt this body weight regulation and ultimately lead to obesity and its related health consequences.
There are many different rare genetic disorders of obesity, and they present in many different ways, but they often present with two common symptoms: severe obesity that occurs early in life, also known as early-onset obesity, and a feeling of insatiable hunger, also known as hyperphagia.
Today, we’re going to take a closer look at why this happens in individuals with rare genetic disorders of obesity. We’ll take a look at what insatiable hunger looks and feels like, how hunger works in our bodies, and what happens in someone with a rare genetic disorder of obesity.
Let’s take a closer look at insatiable hunger. Insatiable hunger, or hyperphagia, is different than regular hunger. Insatiable hunger is a deep hunger that doesn’t go away. It feels like your body is always hungry, and your hunger is stuck in the “on” position. And because of this, it can make it difficult to focus, because you are constantly consumed by the desire to eat. One mom describes what this is like for her son:
“His hunger started at one week. He cried of hunger all the time. He hurt. He will live his whole life hungry. Hunger controls him.”
While different in each person, insatiable hunger often causes:
- Intense hunger that doesn’t go away
- Taking a longer time to feel full while eating
- Feeling hungry again right after a meal
- Thinking about food constantly
- Becoming very upset when food is unavailable
- Always looking for food. For example, this could include stealing food, waking up at night to find food, or even eating food others leave behind, or from the trash.
The feeling of insatiable hunger can be overwhelming. Another mom describes it:
“My daughter has told me, ‘I know you are going to feed me, but it’s like I’m battling with my mind.’ It’s a struggle.”
So what causes insatiable hunger? To understand the science behind it, let’s take a look at what hunger looks like in all of our bodies. Simply put, we need energy to live. Our bodies need fuel in order to go about our daily lives, in order to perform the functions it needs to stay alive. And we get this energy, we get this fuel from food. So our body has many systems in place to make sure that we consume the right amount of food, the right amount of energy, to go about and live our daily lives.
And when this system is functioning properly, when we are eating as much energy as we are using it to live our lives, this system is in balance, and our body weight stays stable. It stays in balance. When we eat too much food, when we eat more food than our body actually uses in its daily lives, our bodies end up storing this energy as fat tissue, and this is when weight gain occurs. Now, the opposite is also true. If we eat too little food, if we don’t eat enough energy, we don’t have the fuel our body needs to go about and live our daily lives.
Our bodies have natural checks and balances to make sure this balance stays even. We have triggers in our body that tell us when to start eating and when to stop, and hormones act as the messengers.
Now, let’s take a closer look at what we can call the “I’m hungry” cycle. Now, imagine an empty stomach with no food in it – basically, representing a body that is low on energy and needs fuel. When this happens, hormones from the body report this low status to the brain, sending the message of, “I’m empty. Eat something.” The brain gets this message, and in turn releases a protein to stimulate the appetite.
The opposite also occurs when we have the “I’m full” cycle. Once there is food in the stomach, representing a body that has enough energy, a message is sent to the brain, telling it, “I’m full. Stop eating.” The brain then goes ahead and dials down that protein that stimulated the appetite, and cranks up the one that is an appetite suppressant, so that the person stops eating.
So how do our brains make sense of all these messages telling it to eat something, or stop eating? How does it know when to send those appetite-stimulating or -suppressing signals? The specific part of our brain that accepts these messages and makes sense of them is called the hypothalamus. Think of the hypothalamus as a neighborhood within the brain. In this neighborhood, there is a road called the MC4R pathway. On this road, cars travel, carrying news and information to and from the brain.
These cars on the MC4R pathway are proteins and hormones that communicate with each other to control hunger and regulate our energy balance. In individuals with a rare genetic disorder of obesity, this process does not work as it should. A genetic variant, or a change in the body’s DNA, causes part of this pathway to not work properly. Think of one of the roads as blocked, and the cars can’t get through. When this happens, the signals in the hypothalamus get stuck in the “I’m hungry” cycle, because the “I’m full” message cannot get through and be delivered.
The brain doesn’t get this message and believes that the body is starving, even though there is food in the stomach. Without this message or signal, this can cause insatiable hunger, and ultimately lead to extreme weight gain.
So, to recap, rare genetic disorders of obesity may be caused when the MC4R pathway in the brain isn’t working properly. In this case, our brain instructs our body to keep eating, even if we already have just eaten. When this happens, it can lead to severe obesity early in life, and insatiable hunger.
I hope you found this helpful. If you suspect you have a rare genetic disorder of obesity, or know someone who does, we encourage you to check out our LEAD website, at LEADforRareObesity.com, for additional resources. Here you can sign up to receive updates, or find helpful tools, such as a doctor discussion guide, or information about our genetic testing program. This video is one of a series, and so we hope you’ll check back on Facebook again to find when the next video posts.
Thanks for watching.
LEAD for Rare Obesity is an initiative of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
© 2019 Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. All rights reserved. MC4R-C0281-10.2020
CHRISTINE
MOM TO COLTON, LIVING WITH ALSTRÖM SYNDROME
Common signs of insatiable hunger
Though it can vary from person to person, you may experience one or more of the following symptoms. For some, these symptoms are constant. For others, they may happen from time to time.

Intense hunger that may never go away

Taking a longer time to feel full while eating

Feeling hungry again right after a meal

Thinking about food constantly

Becoming very upset when food is unavailable

Food-seeking behavior (e.g., sneaking or stealing food)
Why am I so hungry?
What does insatiable hunger feel like?
Rare genetic diseases of obesity may be uncommon, but the community of people living with these conditions is growing. Here are just a few stories of people who are experiencing it themselves or caring for a child who is.
Insatiable Hunger
Living with insatiable hunger, also known as hyperphagia.
Families affected by rare genetic disorders of obesity share their experiences.
DENISE AND EVAN:
Parents of two children living with a rare genetic disorder of obesity
DENISE:
Drake wakes up hungry and pretty much the first thing out of his mouth is what’s going to be for breakfast, and he goes to bed wondering what he’s going to have for breakfast next morning. For Drake it’s definitely an all-day thing.
What is insatiable hunger?
- Intense hunger that may never go away
- Thinking about food constantly
- Food-seeking behavior (e.g., sneaking food)
CHRISTINE
Mom of son living with Alström syndrome
CHRISTINE:
So it’s a constant. I think food is always on his mind. So he’s already starting to think about the next meal as he’s eating or finishing up the meal that he’s having.
AMY
Mom of two children living with Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS)
AMY:
Tyler has said to me that he just doesn’t know when to stop eating. Lauren has told me a number of times, that she just can’t stop thinking about food. And often she is telling me that she’s still hungry, but she had said a number of times “I just can’t stop thinking about it.”
CHRISTINE:
Where’s Colton, where’s Colton? And we’d hear like rustling in the pantry and find that Colton had gone to help himself of whatever there was. So, we had to put a lock on the pantry door.
What does insatiable hunger feel like?
- Taking a longer time to feel full while eating
- Becoming very upset when food is unavailable
- Feeling hungry again right after a meal
BECKY
Living with a suspected rare genetic disorder of obesity
BECKY:
My hunger is very physically painful. I get a lot of different physical symptoms that really hurt, and it can be headaches, I get dizzy, I can feel very shaky. I also have a very painful gnawing sensation in my stomach.
CHRISTINE:
He would cry because he was still hungry and we’d be like, “No, you’ve had plenty of food.” But it always seemed that he wanted more. Usually if we could get him food, then he’d be happy again and we’d move on, but it would only last for short periods of time.
DENISE:
It’s heartbreaking actually from a parent standpoint to watch your kid literally tell you that he’s so hungry after just eating, to the point where he hasn’t felt that he’s eaten at all.
Talk with your doctor if these signs of insatiable hunger sound familiar. They could be caused by a rare genetic disorder of obesity.
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Rhythm, LEAD for Rare Obesity, and their logos are trademarks of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. © 2020 Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. All rights reserved. GL-NP-2000032 – 10/2020
Tips for managing insatiable hunger
If you are coping with a child who has a rare genetic disease of obesity, you may be feeling overwhelmed and unsure what to do.
Dr Amy McTighe, Director of Care Coordination and Prader-Willi Syndrome Program Manager at the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh, shares tips and strategies for navigating insatiable hunger.
Food-related behaviors of rare genetic disorders of obesity. A closer look.
Do you wonder what food-related behaviors of rare genetic obesity disorders are? Let’s take a closer look.
Common behaviors related to food that I typically see with clients that I work with are focused around three major areas.
One, being overeating food. This typically means that they are eating food outside of scheduled mealtimes or eating large amounts of food whenever they have access to it.
Planned food foraging is also very common. That means that there is a specific plan by the person to obtain food in a large amount whenever someone is not watching. Also, I even see people that eat atypical food, such as raw food, pet food, or frozen foods.
Other common behaviors associated with insatiable hunger include:
- Engaging in tantrums to obtain food
- Verbal and physical aggression
- Arguing or manipulating to get food
- Sneaking and extensively seeking food
- Breaking locks on cabinets, refrigerators, or freezers, and
- Shoplifting or stealing food.
For more videos like this, don’t forget to check back on the LEAD for Rare Obesity Facebook page and LEADforRareObesity.com.
Rhythm, LEAD for Rare Obesity, and their logos are trademarks of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
© 2020 Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. All rights reserved. MC4R-C0282(D)-04.2020
Evironmental strategies
Total food security, or limiting food exposure
Positive behavior support and verbal praise
Environmental accommodations and modifications
Thinking outside of the box managing behaviors
Preparation
Predictability
Schedules and visuals
And safety plans.
For more videos like this, don’t forget to check back on the LEAD for Rare Obesity Facebook page and LEADforRareObesity.com.
Rhythm, LEAD for Rare Obesity, and their logos are trademarks of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
© 2020 Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. All rights reserved. MC4R-C0282(E)-04.2020
Locks and alarms: when are they a good idea?
Locks and/or alarms should be used so food cannot be accessed. I know it may seem cruel, but it can actually be a useful tool that is for the benefit of the individual.
Locks and alarms are safety measures to:
- Prevent binge eating
- Prevent extraordinary weight gain, and
- Decrease anxiety and guilt that food can be obtained.
For more videos like this, don’t forget to check back on the LEAD for Rare Obesity Facebook page and LEADforRareObesity.com.
Rhythm, LEAD for Rare Obesity, and their logos are trademarks of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
© 2020 Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. All rights reserved. MC4R-C0282(F)-04.2020
Establishing mealtime habits
A structured meal plan can be helpful in creating predictability and managing food-related behaviors.
- Establish a meal pattern immediately
- Post a daily or weekly menu
- No serving bowls at the table–this means that you are not participating in a family-style meal
- No participation in meal preparation and clean up
- Use disposable containers to make the meal look bigger
Posting a daily or weekly menu may vary based on your child’s level of food anxiety. Some children are able to handle one day’s worth of meals, and others are able to see the entire week’s worth of meals that are planned.
For more videos like this, don’t forget to check back on the LEAD for Rare Obesity Facebook page and LEADforRareObesity.com.
Rhythm, LEAD for Rare Obesity, and their logos are trademarks of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
© 2020 Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. All rights reserved. MC4R-C0282(G)-04.2020
5 tips for managing a meltdown
If your child struggles with insatiable hunger, even with your best planning and modifications, meltdowns will happen.
- Remain calm. Think before you speak. Speak in a calm voice and try not to show fear, anger, or frustration.
- Validate the emotion. You may say something like, “I can see you’re upset about what is happening.” Or, “I can see you’re anxious. How can I help you?”
- Suggest coping strategies. Slow counting and deep, slow breathing are often effective.
- Redirect in a calm, firm voice. “Would you like to work on a puzzle or play a game?”
- Guide your child through the problem-solving process. For example, you may say something like, “We don’t have soda, but we could drink hot tea or lemonade. Which one would you like?”
For more videos like this, don’t forget to check back on the LEAD for Rare Obesity Facebook page and LEADforRareObesity.com.
Rhythm, LEAD for Rare Obesity, and their logos are trademarks of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
© 2020 Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. All rights reserved. MC4R-C0282(H)-04.2020