Why People Get Angry When Hungry - Explained

"You're not you when you're hungry."

That's a Snickers ad tagline, and it's right.

It is true that when people are hungry, they change behavior.

But why the sudden change of behavior? Usually, when someone gets hungry, there is this tendency to be angry, and thus the term "hangry."

Hangry is a play on the words "hungry" and "angry," and it precisely reveals how people act when hungry: grumpy, impatient, and angry.

But why do people get hangry?

Amanda Salis, NHMRC Senior Research Fellow in the Boden Insitute of Obesity, Nutrition, Exercise & Eating Disorders at University of Sydney, explains in an article on The Conversation. 

"As time passes after your last meal, the amount of nutrients circulating in your bloodstream starts to drop. If your blood-glucose levels fall far enough, your brain will perceive it as a life-threatening situation," she says.

The thing is, "unlike most other organs and tissues in your body which can use a variety of nutrients to keep functioning, your brain is critically dependent on glucose to do its job," she adds.

So how does a low glucose level affect people?

"You may find it hard to concentrate," she says, "or you may make silly mistakes. Or you might have noticed that your words become muddled or slurred."

That sounds familiar.

Another effect that it has is it becomes more difficult to behave in "socially acceptable norms, like not snapping at people."

So does the body have a counter response to low glucose levels?

Yes it does. 

"When blood-glucose levels drop," Salis says, "your brain sends instructions to several organs in your body to synthesise and release hormones that increase the amount of glucose in your bloodstream."

The hormones that are released, however, include adrenaline, and cortisol, among others.

Adrenaline is not only released during hungry moments, but also in those "fight or flight" moments when the body feels threatened, or endangered. It's the same response when someone hurts you -- and probably is the same hormone that works together with gamma in the Hulk.

That probably explains why people get "hulkish" when hungry and in need of a good meal.

There are also other factors that affect hanger, such as genes and culture. We're different in all factors. 

So what can we do when we get hangry? Salis gives out a few tips.

"Eat something before you get too hungry," she says.

Nutrient-rich, natural foods are advised. "Quick-fix foods, such as chocolate and potato chips...may leave you feeling hangrier," she adds.

A final  way of dealing with hanger is "that difficult situations be dealt with after food, not before."