Is it normal to eat more when cold?

October 23, 2025 •

4 min read

Research indicates that the body naturally increases its metabolic rate to generate heat in colder temperatures. This increase in energy expenditure often stimulates a higher appetite, meaning it is indeed normal to eat more when cold. The phenomenon is influenced by several biological and psychological factors that have roots in our evolutionary past.

Quick Summary

Several factors, from heightened metabolic activity to hormonal fluctuations and evolutionary instincts, contribute to increased hunger in cold weather. This biological drive for additional energy and comfort food is a natural response as the body works to maintain a stable core temperature.

Key Points

Thermoregulation Drives Hunger: When cold, your body burns more calories to maintain its core temperature, triggering a natural increase in appetite.
Hormones Fluctuate Seasonally: Changes in hormones like ghrelin and leptin, often linked to reduced sunlight, can influence hunger and satiety signals.
Evolutionary Instincts Still Matter: The human body retains an ancient survival instinct to stock up on fat and calories during cold periods when food was historically scarce.
Comfort Food Cravings are Real: Psychological factors, including seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and the emotional connection to warm, hearty foods, can increase cravings for carbs and fat.
Mindful Eating is Key: Managing increased hunger healthily involves prioritizing nutritious, warming foods, staying active, and being mindful of emotional triggers.
Shivering Isn't the Only Heat Source: Both shivering and non-shivering thermogenesis, particularly through brown fat activation, contribute to the increased energy expenditure in the cold.

The Science Behind Increased Appetite in the Cold

Experiencing a ramped-up appetite in chilly weather is a well-documented and completely normal physiological response. It's not a sign of a lack of willpower, but rather your body's intelligent system adapting to its environment. The core reason is thermoregulation—the process by which your body maintains a stable internal temperature of around 98.6°F (37°C), regardless of the external conditions. When faced with cold, your body must expend more energy to stay warm, and it signals this need by increasing your hunger.

How Your Body Generates Heat

To combat the cold, your body employs several heat-generating mechanisms. Some are obvious, while others work in the background.

Shivering: This is the most visible response to cold. When you shiver, your muscles rapidly contract and relax, which can increase heat production by up to 500%. This muscular work requires a significant amount of energy, which your body demands from its fuel source: food.
Non-Shivering Thermogenesis: This is a more subtle form of heat production, primarily involving brown adipose tissue (BAT), or brown fat. Unlike white fat, which stores energy, brown fat burns calories to produce heat. While more prominent in infants, adult humans have functional brown fat deposits that are activated by cold exposure, further increasing calorie expenditure.
Diet-Induced Thermogenesis: When you eat, your body expends energy to digest, absorb, and metabolize the food. This process generates heat, contributing to your overall body temperature. This is one of the reasons why eating a hot, hearty meal can make you feel warmer from the inside out.

The Role of Hormones and Evolution

Beyond the immediate physical reactions, deeper hormonal and evolutionary factors also play a significant role in cold-weather hunger.

Hormonal Shifts

Seasonal changes can disrupt the balance of appetite-regulating hormones. Studies have shown fluctuations in key hormones during colder months, though results are sometimes mixed and vary by individual.

Ghrelin: Often called the "hunger hormone," ghrelin levels may increase in colder weather, signaling a stronger urge to eat.
Leptin: The "satiety hormone," leptin, which signals fullness, can decrease in colder temperatures. The combination of higher ghrelin and lower leptin would theoretically lead to increased food seeking.
Serotonin: With less exposure to sunlight in winter, some people experience lower levels of the mood-regulating neurotransmitter serotonin. The body often craves carbohydrates, which temporarily boost serotonin production, as a way of self-medicating and improving mood.

Evolutionary Instincts

From an evolutionary standpoint, the desire to eat more in winter is a remnant of our ancestors' need for survival. In prehistoric times, winter meant a period of food scarcity. The natural instinct was to gain weight and store fat during the autumn months to have an energy reserve to get through the lean season. This innate biological mechanism, though less necessary in our modern world of abundant food, still influences our appetite and cravings today.

Managing Cold-Weather Cravings

While increased hunger is normal, consistently overeating high-calorie, low-nutrient foods can lead to unhealthy weight gain. It's important to honor your body's cues while making smart choices.

Strategies for Healthy Cold-Weather Eating

Prioritize Nutritious Comfort Foods: Choose wholesome, warming meals that provide sustained energy and satiety. Think protein-packed soups, stews loaded with root vegetables, and whole-grain oatmeal.
Stay Active: While it's tempting to become sedentary, regular physical activity is crucial. Exercise generates body heat and helps regulate appetite and mood.
Embrace Mindful Snacking: Instead of mindlessly reaching for sugary or fatty snacks, plan healthy, satisfying options. Nuts, seeds, Greek yogurt, or a piece of fruit with nut butter can effectively curb hunger.
Hydrate with Warm Beverages: Sometimes thirst can be mistaken for hunger, especially in colder weather. Warm beverages like herbal tea, hot lemon water, or broth can help you stay hydrated and feel fuller.

Cold Weather Appetite: Normal vs. Problematic

Not all increased eating in the cold is the same. Recognizing the difference can be helpful for managing your health.


Aspect	Normal Cold-Weather Appetite	Potentially Problematic Eating
Reason	Physiological response to increased energy needs for thermoregulation.	Emotional eating triggered by winter blues or boredom.
Cravings	Mild increase in desire for hearty, filling foods.	Strong, uncontrollable cravings for highly processed, sugary, and fatty foods.
Energy Levels	Appetite increases to match higher energy expenditure from staying warm.	Eating habits are out of proportion with activity levels, often leading to sluggishness.
Mindset	Conscious of eating more but still mindful of nutritional quality.	Mindless eating, often accompanied by feelings of guilt or shame.
Impact	Small, temporary weight fluctuations are common.	Consistent and significant weight gain over the winter months.

Conclusion

It is entirely normal to eat more when cold due to a complex interplay of physiological, hormonal, and evolutionary factors. Your body is intelligently responding to the environmental conditions by boosting its metabolic rate and seeking more fuel to generate heat. While acknowledging this biological drive is important, it is also beneficial to manage these impulses with mindful eating, prioritizing healthy and warming food choices, and staying active. By understanding the underlying reasons for your winter appetite, you can work with your body's natural rhythms rather than against them, ensuring you stay both warm and healthy throughout the colder months.

For more detailed information on metabolic processes and thermoregulation, the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) offers extensive resources. For instance, their article on macronutrient requirements in cold environments provides further scientific context.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, being cold increases your metabolism. To produce the heat needed to maintain its core temperature, your body has to work harder, a process that burns more calories and ramps up your metabolic rate.

Cravings for carbohydrates in the cold are often linked to a decrease in sunlight, which can lower serotonin levels. Carbohydrates can provide a temporary boost to serotonin, leading to a natural desire for carb-rich foods to improve mood.

It's not inherently bad, as some increase in appetite is a normal physiological response. However, consistently overindulging in high-calorie, low-nutrient foods can lead to unhealthy weight gain.

Yes, eating generates internal heat through the process of digestion and metabolism, a phenomenon known as diet-induced thermogenesis. Consuming food helps slightly increase your body temperature.

To manage your appetite healthily, focus on nutrient-dense foods, incorporate warm beverages, stay active, and practice mindful eating. High-protein and high-fiber foods can help you feel fuller for longer.

From an evolutionary perspective, our ancestors needed to build up fat stores during the cold months to prepare for periods of food scarcity. This ancient survival instinct still influences our modern-day eating habits.

While the process of digesting any food generates heat, consuming hot foods or beverages can provide a more immediate and noticeable warming effect. This is both a physical and psychological response.