Are You Hungrier When You're Cold or Hot? The Science of Temperature and Appetite

October 31, 2025 •

4 min read

According to a 2023 study published in Nature, chilly conditions can make your stomach growl louder than a hot day. This happens because the body works harder to maintain its core temperature in the cold, increasing its energy demands and, as a result, making you hungrier.

Quick Summary

Cold weather prompts increased hunger due to higher energy expenditure for thermoregulation. Conversely, hot weather tends to decrease appetite as the body works to avoid overheating during digestion. Various factors, including metabolic rate, hormones, and behavioral habits, influence these seasonal shifts.

Key Points

Cold Weather Increases Hunger: In cold environments, the body burns more calories to maintain its core temperature, triggering an increased appetite to fuel this energy expenditure.
Hot Weather Decreases Appetite: When it's hot, the body suppresses hunger to reduce the internal heat generated by digesting food, prioritizing cooling instead.
The Hypothalamus Controls Both: The hypothalamus, a region in the brain, is responsible for regulating both body temperature and hunger, explaining the connection.
Shivering Boosts Calorie Burn: Shivering is a muscle contraction that rapidly expends energy to produce heat, signaling a need for more calories.
Brown Fat Burns Calories for Heat: Cold exposure activates brown fat, which burns calories to create warmth, further increasing energy needs.
Hormones and Habits Play a Role: Hormonal shifts, seasonal affective disorder, and cultural eating habits also influence appetite alongside temperature.
Food Preferences Change with Temperature: People tend to crave hearty, warm foods in the cold and lighter, hydrating foods in the heat.

The Biological Drive: Why Your Body Needs Fuel in the Cold

When the ambient temperature drops, your body's survival instincts kick in. It needs to generate more internal heat to maintain a stable core temperature of around 98.6°F (37°C). This process is known as thermogenesis and it's a significant driver of cold-weather hunger. Your body uses two primary methods for thermogenesis to keep you warm: shivering and non-shivering thermogenesis.

Shivering and Metabolic Rate

Shivering is the body's involuntary, rapid muscle contraction that generates heat, burning a significant number of calories in the process. The energy expended to fuel this muscular activity creates an increased demand for calories, which your body signals through heightened feelings of hunger. The result is a natural desire to consume more food, particularly calorie-dense options, to replenish energy stores.

Brown Fat Activation

Another key mechanism is the activation of brown adipose tissue (BAT), or brown fat. Unlike white fat, which stores energy, brown fat burns calories to produce heat. Cold exposure can activate and even increase the amount of brown fat in your body, contributing to a higher metabolic rate and a greater need for fuel.

The Suppression Effect: Why Heat Kills Your Appetite

In contrast, hot weather often leads to a decrease in appetite. This effect is also tied to your body's thermoregulatory efforts, but in the opposite direction.

The Thermic Effect of Food

Digesting and metabolizing food generates heat, a phenomenon called the thermic effect of food. In already hot environments, your body aims to avoid overheating, so it naturally suppresses the desire for large, calorie-heavy meals. It is essentially trying to keep its internal temperature down by reducing the need for heat-producing digestion.

Redirected Blood Flow

When you're hot, your body diverts blood flow from the digestive system to the skin to facilitate cooling through sweating. This redirection of resources can also contribute to a decreased feeling of hunger, as digestive processes are given a lower priority.

Hydration and Fluid Intake

In hot weather, you naturally consume more fluids to stay hydrated. Sometimes, thirst signals can be mistaken for hunger, and the increased fluid intake can also create a sense of fullness that reduces overall appetite.

Beyond Biology: Behavioral and Hormonal Influences

While the physiological mechanisms are the primary drivers, behavioral and hormonal factors also play a significant role in how temperature affects your hunger.

Seasonal Eating Habits: Culturally, we associate cold weather with warm, hearty comfort foods like soups and stews, which are typically high in calories. In summer, cravings shift towards lighter, more hydrating foods like salads and fruits.
Sunlight and Hormones: Reduced sunlight in winter can impact mood-regulating hormones like serotonin, potentially leading to cravings for carbohydrate-rich comfort foods. Research also suggests that hormonal shifts throughout the seasons, including fluctuations in ghrelin (the hunger hormone) and leptin (the fullness hormone), may play a role.
Stress and Exercise: The holiday season, which often coincides with colder weather, can increase stress, leading to cortisol production and increased appetite. Exercise habits also change seasonally; while people may exercise less in colder months, physical activity levels can fluctuate year-round, impacting appetite.

Temperature and Appetite: A Comparison

To summarize the key differences, consider the table below:


Factor	Cold Weather	Hot Weather
Energy Expenditure	Increased to maintain core temperature via shivering and non-shivering thermogenesis.	Decreased to avoid overheating; less energy is required for heat production.
Thermic Effect of Food	Body welcomes the internal heat generated by digesting large meals.	Body seeks to minimize internal heat, suppressing the desire for high-calorie foods.
Appetite	Increased due to higher caloric demand and hormonal cues.	Decreased as the body prioritizes cooling over digestion.
Cravings	Often for hearty, warm, calorie-dense comfort foods like soups, stews, and carbohydrates.	Typically for lighter, colder, and hydrating foods like fruits and salads.
Hormonal Response	Fluctuations in hormones like serotonin and ghrelin may contribute to increased hunger.	Potential decrease in the hunger-stimulating hormone ghrelin.
Body's Priority	Generate and conserve heat to stay warm.	Dissipate heat and stay cool.

Managing Your Appetite in Extreme Temperatures

Understanding how temperature affects your appetite is the first step towards managing your food intake consciously.

In the Cold:

Focus on Nutrient-Dense Foods: Instead of high-calorie junk food, opt for balanced meals with lean proteins, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates to provide sustainable energy.
Stay Hydrated: Even though you may not feel as thirsty, proper hydration is crucial for overall health and can help manage hunger cues.
Stay Active: Regular physical activity helps regulate your metabolism and mood, counteracting the effects of sedentary winter habits.

In the Heat:

Eat Smaller, More Frequent Meals: Lighter, more frequent meals are easier to digest and generate less body heat than a large, heavy one.
Embrace Water-Rich Foods: Incorporate hydrating foods like watermelon, cucumbers, and berries into your diet.
Stay Hydrated: Drink plenty of water throughout the day to prevent dehydration, which can confuse hunger and fullness signals.
Listen to Your Body: Recognize that a reduced appetite in the heat is a natural thermoregulatory response. There is no need to force-feed yourself if you are not hungry.

Conclusion

Scientific evidence overwhelmingly supports that you are hungrier when you are cold than when you are hot. This difference is driven by the body's fundamental need to regulate its internal temperature. In cold environments, the body expends more energy to produce heat, which prompts an increased appetite to fuel this process. In hot environments, the body works to cool itself, which suppresses appetite to reduce the heat generated by digestion. By understanding these physiological mechanisms, you can make more informed choices about your diet and listen to your body's cues more effectively, regardless of the season. To learn more about the specific metabolic adaptations to cold environments, see the detailed analysis by NCBI.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, it is very common and normal to eat less in hot weather. Your body naturally suppresses your appetite to minimize the internal heat produced during digestion.

You feel hungrier in winter because your body has to work harder and expend more energy to stay warm. This increased energy expenditure triggers your appetite to ensure you have enough fuel.

The 'thermic effect of food' is the energy your body uses to digest, absorb, and metabolize the food you eat. This process produces heat, which is why your appetite decreases in hot weather and increases in cold weather.

Yes, your body burns more calories when it's cold through processes like shivering and non-shivering thermogenesis to produce heat. However, the effect is often minor unless you are in extreme cold for a prolonged period.

Seasonal hormonal shifts, such as changes in ghrelin (hunger hormone) and leptin (satiety hormone), along with mood-related hormones like serotonin, can influence appetite in different temperature conditions.

Cravings for warm, heavy foods in the cold are a combination of physiological and psychological factors. Your body desires the fuel and internal heat these foods provide, and they also offer a sense of comfort.

No, it is not necessary to force yourself to eat if you're not hungry in hot weather. It's more important to stay hydrated with fluids and water-rich foods. Your body's decreased appetite is a natural cooling mechanism.