# The Drive to Eat: Appetite --- **Appetite** is a specific, psycological desire to [[nutrition|eat]] a *specific* food, or type of food. For example the appetite for chocolate doesn't necessiarily correspond to how low our [[blood glucose|blood sugar]] is, which is what can cause the closely related yet drastically different feeling of [[hunger]]. ## Factors Affecting Appetite It is a complex feeling with many factors, but the three main ones are *sensory data*, *social and cultural cues*, and *learning*. **Sensory data** referes to all ways a food can be sensed, and it can be a strong force in makeing you want to eat something. The sight, smell, taste, texture, even sound of a food or dish can make the dish more or less attractive. Have you ever not been hungry for something until you see it and it looks so good? **Social and cultural cues** are our own associations with situations and the food we eat. For example, being in a movie theater can make you want popcorn because you *always* have popcorn at the theater. This can also refer to a situations where you eat when you're feeling a certain way—woried, upset, bored. **Learning** has a lot to do with the types of food you're used to eating. This has strong connections to one's culture. What someone in one culture learns to eat might be very different from someone else in another culture. This is also how you can "aquire a taste" for something, by learning to appreciate new foods. ___