AGE -EATING- ACE : PARENTS GLOBAL ESSAY

'' THE reasons you eat less as you age. '' Fading senses of smell and hormonal shifts are among some very vital factors.

[ Q ] : ' When I was younger, I had a large healthy appetite. Now that I'm in my 60s, I get fuller faster, and I can't eat like I used to.  What's going on?

It's common for people to eat less as they age, said Roger A. Fielding, a professor of nutrition at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Massachusetts.

In one analysis of nearly 60 studies, for instance, researchers found that those 60 or older consumed 16 to 20 percent fewer calories than younger adults did.

The big question is why, said Barbara Rolls, a professor of nutritional sciences at Penn State.  Various factors, including age, can shape an appetite and and how sated people feel after eating, so it is challenging to know what might be affecting them.

There are a few potential culprits to consider, according to experts, and things you can do about them.

Hormonal shifts that occur with aging can influence how much you want to eat, said Dr. Margaret Manus, an internist at Houston Methodist Hospital.

Some limited research has shown, for instance, that older adults produce less ghrelin - a hormone that makes you feel hungry - than younger people do.

Other research has shown that people produce more of two other hormones, - leptin and cholecystokinin, which cause people to feel full  - as they age. As a result, Dr. Manus said, they eat less.

There's also limited evidence suggesting that the stomach empties more slowly as people get older, Dr. Rolls said. The shift could delay how soon a person feels hungry again after a snack or meal.

And people tend to lose muscle with age, Dr. Fielding said. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so people with less muscle will need to eat less food, he said. 

Our senses of smell and taste can diminish with time, Dr. Rolls said.

In a 2022 study that involved 60 participants,  researchers found that among those over 50, a little more than half had tissues with taste sensitivity, and 70 percent couldn't smell very well.

If food doesn't taste or smell good, you tend to want less of it, Dr. Rolls said.

In a study involving 359 older adults in the Netherlands, researchers found that those who said they couldn't taste very well had less appetite than those who retained ability to taste.

This Master Research Publishing in service and with good wishes for all parents, continues thanks Melinda Wenner Moyer.