Study: Sun exposure stimulates appetite in men, but not in women

BOSTON -- Can being out in the sun make you hungry? 

Well, it turns out sun exposure stimulates appetite in men but not women.

Researchers in Israel recruited a group of 5 men and 5 women to spend 25 minutes in the sun.  They were then asked questions about their appetites. Men reported feeling hungrier while women reported no difference in appetite before or after sun exposure.  The researchers also found higher levels of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates appetite, in the men after sun exposure but not in the women. 

Also, looking at dietary data on about 3,000 people over a year, they found that men eat on average 300 calories a day more between March and September compared to the winter months. Calorie consumption in women is more constant year-round.  

Critics caution these results do not mean that sun exposure leads to weight gain in men but say further research should be done to study the effects of the sun on human calorie consumption.  

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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