Hunger (Fallout 4)

Hunger is a derived statistic in Fallout 4.

Characteristics
Hunger on Survival difficulty is tracked together with thirst and sleep, much like in New Vegas. Unlike New Vegas, it is coded differently. The nutritional value of each item that sates hunger is determined by its caps value, with the maximum amount of sustenance provided by a single item set at 231. Parasites halve the amount of sustenance provided by food items, making it something to get rid of, fast.

The character's hunger increases by 4 points every in-game hour and applies ever more severe penalties, up to and including death. Sleeping reduces hunger accumulation (1 point per hour instead of 4), while entering combat will cause the next hunger check to happen faster, by 15 in-game minutes each time. Once hunger effects start applying, the player receives a malus according to the table below. Bonus effects will also not apply if the player character is hungry (i.e. Peckish or above).

Certain items can increase hunger. In this case, they decrease the food pool by 65% of their caps value. All cola-type items also increase hunger by one fifth or 20% of their caps value.

Cannibals beware: Eating corpses will result in Dark Cravings. After 12 hours pass since the last meal, the Craving will start and food items will no longer reduce hunger until another corpse or any food item made from one is consumed. On the plus side, eating a corpse completely fills one's stomach.