Even though hunger and fullness hormones are different in older women, those differences don’t match up with who eats less—so the problem probably isn’t the hormones themselves.
Scientific Claim
Changes in cholecystokinin and ghrelin are unlikely to be responsible for reduced appetite and food intake in undernourished older women, as their levels do not align with eating behavior differences between groups.
Original Statement
“These observations suggest that reduced basal hunger, rather than increased meal-induced satiety, contributes to the anorexia of aging and that changes in CCK and ghrelin are unlikely to be responsible.”
Evidence Quality Assessment
Claim Status
overstated
Study Design Support
Design cannot support claim
Appropriate Language Strength
association
Can only show association/correlation
Assessment Explanation
The abstract uses definitive language ('unlikely to be responsible') implying exclusion of causation, but the study design is observational with no causal controls. Full methodology is unavailable to verify this conclusion.
More Accurate Statement
“Differences in cholecystokinin and ghrelin levels are not consistently associated with variations in food intake between undernourished and well-nourished older women, suggesting these hormones are unlikely to be primary drivers of reduced appetite in aging.”
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
Even though the undernourished older women ate less, their hunger hormones didn’t act the way you’d expect — ghrelin was actually higher, and CCK was the same as in healthier older women. So, these hormones probably aren’t why they lost their appetite.