Appetite is a feeling I would describe more psychological. I'm smelling something delicious and suddenly want to eat it.
It is psycho-physiological addiction. (smell is not psychology, it is physiological). It is like cigarette addiction. But it isn't a physiological need.
Not having eaten for 2-3 days would be hunger.
I'm replying to your post because I get hungry even quicker. I had lunch (rump steak, potatoes) at 1pm and now at 4:30, I'm hungry again. My BMI Is 21, with rather low body fat.
Even with a BMI of 21, you can probably fast for 20-40 days with no irreversible damage, and that feeling you call "hunger" will not be there after the 2nd day.
You do not know what hunger is until you've felt it. I thought I knew what hunger was, until I fasted for 25 days. Then, I actually discovered what hunger is.