OH REALLY

SCIENCE CONFIRMS: Hunger Really Does MakePeople Feel ‘Hangry’

Feeling hungry really does lead to more anger and irritability.

Hangry, or the blending of the words hungry and angry, has become apopular expression in everyday language in recent years. However, researchersnote that this is the first study to examine how the phenomenon affects aperson’s day-to-day emotional state.

Results revealthat whenpeople feel hungry, they experience stronger feelings of anger and irritabilityand less pleasure. The team says the connection was stillstrong even after accounting for individual factors, including age, sex, bodymass index, each person’s diet, and their unique personality traits.

Overall,researchers say hunger accounted for roughly a third of the variance in aperson’s emotional well-being throughout the day. Hungeraccounted for 37 percent of the variance in irritability, 34 percent of thevariance in anger, and 38 percent of the drop in pleasure when someone iscraving a snack.

Study authorsadd that feeling hungry one day can even leave a residual trace which impactsour emotions for weeks after.

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