After establishing that a glucostatic mechanism is involved in satiety, the authors investigated overeating in obese persons. Four obese women demonstrated abnormal increased peripheral utilization of glucose when faced by a threat of loss of emotional support from an important person. This abnormal metabolic functioning causes the glucostatic satiety mechanism not to be stimulated (since peripheral glucose levels affect certain hypothalamic satiety centers); hence there is failure of inhibition of eating. The satiety mechanism is an example of active inhibition of a physiological drive.