slow, these signals may take several hours to
be transmitted, which means they can’t do a
very good job all by themselves to keep you
from overeating.
That’s where satiation comes in.
Satiation is regulated in the brain and
provides more timely motivation to stop
eating. It’s based on the taste, smell, and
texture of food, the perception of “fullness,”
even your knowledge of how many calories
are in a meal. As you eat, you perceive
various sensations (“This is delicious,” “I
shouldn’t eat the whole bag” or “I’m getting
pretty full”), all of which send your brain
status updates to help you determine whether
you still want more. But unlike satiety,
satiation is an estimate dependent on your
perceptions, not an absolute measurement.
Ideally, the brain would signal us to stop
eating when our bodies have sensed that
we’ve digested and absorbed enough nutrition