hunger
n. the sensation caused by a need for food. Traditional conceptualizations viewed hunger as resulting from imbalances in homeostasis and food intake as necessary to maintain in the body an optimum balance of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients. Contemporary theories, however, largely consider hunger to be initiated by the gradual disappearance of the inhibitory effects generated from the previous meal, such that hunger does not need to be stimulated but rather is always present and more or less masked depending on meal recency. See satiety. See also appetite; malnutrition.