To everyone's relief, the subjects' moods and social behavior stabilized three months later. But when it came to eating, the men agreed they were not " back to normal ." Many ate " more or less continuously " and a subgroup of the subjects continued bingeing to the point of sickness, even eight months later. At least one man was hospitalized for several days after having his stomach pumped."Hunger differs radically from the delightful nuances of appetite," wrote the researchers in Men and Hunger. Semi-starvation had temporarily changed these men in many ways, but what seemed to linger long after was this inability to distinguish between the constant gnawing of hunger and normal appetite. Appetite is a question to be answered with a meal. Hunger is a need, an enduring hollowness that begs for satisfaction by any means necessary."They were men who postponed their living, while they endured the awful present," writes Keys and his fellow researchers in Men and Hunger. Many subjects continued working in public or charitable service; when asked to reflect on their participation in the Minnesota Starvation Experiment, they indeed saw it as a worthy sacrifice for the greater good — as well they should. They provided invaluable data on the treatment of starving populations. It's unlikely Keys was thinking of hardcore dieters and disordered eaters at the time, yet he offered insight into those "semi-starved" people, as well.