Which statement correctly distinguishes external from internal eating cues?

• A. External cues arise from the body's energy needs; internal cues arise from environment.
• B. External cues arise from the environment and stimuli; internal cues arise from the body's energy needs.
• C. External cues are only social; internal cues are only physiological.
• D. External cues are only about taste; internal cues are about smell.

Answer: (B)

External eating cues come from the outside environment and the stimuli around us—things like seeing food, smelling food, the availability of snacks, mealtimes, or other people eating. Internal cues come from inside the body and reflect energy status, such as hunger when energy is needed and fullness once enough calories have been consumed, driven by signals like ghrelin and leptin and stomach stretch.

The statement that external cues arise from the environment and stimuli while internal cues arise from the body's energy needs captures this distinction. It correctly assigns environmental and sensory triggers to external cues and physiological hunger and fullness signals to internal cues.

The other options mix up the sources or narrow the scope incorrectly. For example, reversal of sources would imply internal signals come from the environment, which isn’t right; limiting external cues to social factors ignores non-social environmental triggers; and restricting external cues to taste or internal cues to smell misses the broader range of signals involved in eating behavior.