The Psychology of Hunger | Dr Jason Fung

About this episode

Dr. Jason Fung discusses the complexities of hunger and its impact on dieting and weight management.

Why do diets so often fail... is it discipline or biology? Dr. Jason Fung is a physician, nephrologist, and one of the most influential voices challenging how we understand metabolism, obesity, and chronic disease. He is the bestselling author of The Obesity Code , The Diabetes Code , and his newest book, The Hunger Code , which explores a deceptively powerful question: what is actually driving hunger, and what does the answer tell us about why so many people struggle with their weight? In this conversation with Dr. Michael Gervais, Dr. Fung explains why the standard advice of "eat less and move more" isn't just ineffective, it's missing the point entirely. The real question isn't how much you eat. It's why you eat. And the answer, he argues, is far more complex, and far more interesting, than anyone has told us. At the center of the conversation is Dr. Fung's framework of three distinct types of hunger: homeostatic hunger, driven by hormones and biology; hedonic hunger, driven by pleasure and reward; and conditioned hunger, driven by environment and learned behavior. Each has its own cause, its own pattern, and its own solution. And until we understand which type of hunger we're…

People in this episode

Host: Michael Gervais

Guest: Dr Jason Fung

Topics covered

• hunger
• metabolism
• obesity
• chronic disease
• insulin
• dieting

Keywords

• homeostatic hunger
• hedonic hunger
• conditioned hunger
• The Obesity Code
• The Diabetes Code
• The Hunger Code

Mentioned in this episode

Products: The Obesity Code, The Diabetes Code, The Hunger Code

Books & works: The Psychology of Hunger, The Obesity Code, The Diabetes Code, The Hunger Code

Places: Italy, Japan, California

More episodes of Finding Mastery with Dr. Michael Gervais

• The Psychology Of Spirituality | Dr. Lisa Miller · June 10, 2026 · 1h 1m
• The Psychology of Awareness | Jon Kabat-Zinn · June 3, 2026 · 1h 1m
• The Psychology Of Not Giving A F*ck | Mark Manson · May 27, 2026 · 48 min
• The Psychology Of Feeling Loved | Dr Sonja Lyubomirsky · May 20, 2026 · 1h 4m
• The Psychology of Being a Super Communicator | Charles Duhigg · May 13, 2026 · 52 min
• 5 Questions to Unlock Your Inner Potential | Dr. Mike Gervais - AMA Vol.29 · May 6, 2026 · 60 min