Getting warmer, like in a sauna or by exercising, makes you feel less hungry because it lowers the hormones that make you want to eat.
Scientific Claim
Elevating core body temperature through thermogenic stimuli suppresses the secretion of hunger-regulating hormones.
Original Statement
“Any way that you can increase your body temperature, whether it's dietary induced thermogenesis or whether it's exercise induced thermogenesis, some way to elevate your body temperature. What we're finding now is that elevating your body temperature actually decreases hunger hormones.”
Context Details
Domain
nutrition
Population
human
Subject
elevation of core body temperature
Action
suppresses
Target
hunger-regulating hormones
Intervention Details
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
The potential role of hypothalamic POMCTRPM2 in interscapular BAT thermogenesis
When the brain’s 'stop eating' neurons are turned on by heat, the body burns more energy to get warmer — and since these same neurons make you feel less hungry, warming up may naturally reduce hunger.
Contradicting (3)
This study found that certain bacteria and inflammation make the body less able to generate heat, but it never looked at whether this affects hunger hormones, so we can't say if the claim is true or false based on this research.
Twenty four-hour passive heat and cold exposures did not modify energy intake and appetite but strongly modify food reward
The study found that getting hotter didn’t make people feel less hungry or change their hunger hormones in a way that supports the claim — in fact, some hunger signals even went up slightly.
Effect of shortened sleep on energy expenditure, core body temperature, and appetite: a human randomised crossover trial
The study found that when people slept less, their body temperature dropped and they felt hungrier—not less hungry. So, lower body temperature was linked to more hunger, which is the opposite of what the claim says.