Despite the feeling of hunger often being unenjoyable, it may offer some health benefits, according to a new study.
The research, published in the journal Science, suggests that hunger itself may be enough to slow ageing. The study examined changes in the brain that occur when a person feels hunger, with the drive to seek food potentially behind longer life.
Researchers induced hunger in flies to examine their reaction and findings showed that the insects who showed signs of need-based hunger, lived significantly longer, compared to the other flies. However, the researchers noted that caution is required before applying the findings to humans.
Researcher Kirsty Weaver said: "We think we've created a type of insatiable hunger in flies. And by doing so, the flies lived longer."
The scientists did suggest that "there's every reason to expect that the mechanisms discovered are likely to modulate hunger drives in other species", reports the Express.
The next steps will see scientists examine how the drive to eat for pleasure - present both in flies and in people - may be linked to lifespan.
Intermittent fasting is another dietary approach based on fasting that has been linked to a range of health benefits.
The fasting required to you eat regularly during a window each day, refraining from eating during the other hours of the day. For example, people will eat within eight hours as normal before stopping for the remaining 16 hours of the day.
Various doctors and nutrition experts have hailed the impact of intermittent fasting, with Dr Julia Jones previously suggesting we simply eat too often during an appearance on ITV's This Morning.
The doctor suggested that waiting until 11am to eat breakfast could be beneficial as it gives you digestive system a needed rest.
Further, the expert stated that the simple diet time tweak could add up to 20 years to your life.
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