Abstract

There occurs a variable decrease in appetite in about 15% and 30% of older adults. This decline in desire to eat in older adults was described as the ‘anorexia of ageing’ by John Morley and Silver in 1988 [1]. The appetite deteriorates with increasing age, being higher in women, hospitalized patients, old age home residents and those living alone [2]. The reduced appetite and dietary intake is a harbinger of weight loss and malnutrition (WLM) leading to serious consequences for older adults. The weight loss in older adults may represent more of the tissue loss in skeletal muscle than adipose tissue. When excessive, it results in sarcopenia, often associated with protein-energy malnutrition and various deficiencies of vitamins and essential minerals.