Analysis Version
v1
History
Back to Study: Appetite, food intake, and plasma concentrations o...
descriptive
Analysis v1
42
Pro
0
Against

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.

Scientific Claim

Undernourished older women exhibit lower basal hunger levels compared to young women, despite similar or higher ghrelin concentrations, suggesting that reduced hunger may be a key feature of anorexia of aging.

Original Statement

“At baseline the undernourished, but not the well-nourished, older subjects were less hungry (P < 0.05) than young subjects.”

From 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.

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 reports a group difference in hunger levels but does not confirm experimental manipulation or control for confounders. Causal language is inappropriate; only association can be claimed. Full methodology is unavailable.

More Accurate Statement

“Lower basal hunger is associated with undernourishment in older women compared to young women, though the relationship may be influenced by unmeasured physiological or behavioral factors.”

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

42
42

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 older women who aren’t eating enough had more of the ‘hunger hormone,’ they still felt less hungry than young women — meaning their lack of appetite isn’t because their body isn’t signaling hunger, but because they just don’t feel it as much.

Contradicting (0)

0
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

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.

42
0
85%

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.

42
0
80%

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

32
0
77%

Frail older people have less of the hunger hormone in their blood even before they eat, which might make them less interested in food.

32
0
76%