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.

Pro

Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

Community contributions welcome

Appetite, food intake, and plasma concentrations of cholecystokinin, ghrelin, and other gastrointestinal hormones in undernourished older women and well-nourished young and older women.

Cross-Sectional Study

Human

2003 Aug

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.

Contradicting (0)

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No contradicting evidence found

Source Study

Appetite, food intake, and plasma concentrations of cholecystokinin, ghrelin, and other gastrointestinal hormones in undernourished older women and well-nourished young and older women.

Score: 42

DOI: 10.1210/JC.2002-021656

Similar Assertions

Older women who aren't eating enough feel less hungry than younger women, even though their bodies are making more of the hunger hormone, which might explain why they eat less as they age.

80%

Even though undernourished older women have more of the hunger hormone in their blood, they still don’t eat more—so high hunger signals don’t always make people eat.

80%

Older people don’t feel hungry after eating because their body doesn’t release the right hunger hormone the way younger people do.

74%

Masticatory activity triggers the release of cholecystokinin and suppresses ghrelin, reducing subjective hunger independent of nutrient intake.

72%