• Question: i ate lots of junk food on stuarday night, and now all of sunday and today i am starving. do you know why this is?

    Asked by pollystyrene to Adam, Catherine, Karen, Leila, Nazim on 13 Mar 2012.
    • Photo: Adam Stevens

      Adam Stevens answered on 13 Mar 2012:

      Probably because junk food doesn’t really give your body the nutrients it needs. Mostly junk food is made of simple carbohydrates, which you body uses for energy. However, they get burned up very quickly, leaving you feeling tired.

      Complex carbohydrates are used by the body in a more controlled way, so if you had eaten some of these you probably wouldn’t feel as hungry.

      However, simple carbs are great if you need a big quick burst of energy – a lot of athletes eat a massive bowl of pasta or similar before they compete!

    • Photo: Leila Battison

      Leila Battison answered on 13 Mar 2012:

      If you ate a big meal on Saturday, your stomach will have blown up like a balloon to fit it all in. While it is easy to strch your stomach, it takes longer for it to shrink back down again. So even if you are eating a ‘normal’ amount on Sunday, your stomach still thinks it’s not full.

      If you keep doing that, it’s easy to get fat, because you keep stretching your stomach every time you eat a little bit more than you need, and all the calories you’re not using get turned into fat and stored underneath your skin. The best thing to do if you want to feel full without eating so much is drink lots of water!

    • Photo: Nazim Bharmal

      Nazim Bharmal answered on 13 Mar 2012:

      Did you eat enough protein? Like burgers or lots of cheese? It is easy to eat lots of fat, sugar, and other carbohydrates using junk food.

      I eat a lot of biscuits, crisps, pizza, chocolate and coffee when at the telescope to help me stay awake all night. That works because there is little protein but a lot of sugar. (I don’t recommend it, it is very unhealthy and I have to do a lot of running when I get back.)

      So when we don’t have a balanced diet, our body ‘wants’ more of something. And that can be when you feel hungry. (But it is harder to work out ‘what’ that something is!)

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