When people eat a small snack before lunch, most people eat less at lunch—but undernourished older adults don’t cut back, even when they’ve already eaten something.
Scientific Claim
A 280-kcal preload significantly reduces subsequent food intake in well-nourished older and young women but has no effect in undernourished older women, indicating a blunted satiety response to pre-meal cues in undernourished aging.
Original Statement
“The preload suppressed food intake in the well-nourished older and young subjects (P < 0.05), but was without effect in the undernourished old.”
Evidence Quality Assessment
Claim Status
overstated
Study Design Support
Design cannot support claim
Appropriate Language Strength
association
Can only show association/correlation
Assessment Explanation
Although the preload was administered in randomized order, blinding and full protocol details are unknown. The claim implies a mechanistic failure, which cannot be confirmed without full methodology.
More Accurate Statement
“A 280-kcal preload is associated with reduced subsequent food intake in well-nourished older and young women but not in undernourished older women, suggesting a group-specific difference in response to pre-meal cues.”
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
The study found that eating a small snack before lunch made healthy older and young women eat less at lunch, but it didn’t work for undernourished older women—meaning their bodies just don’t respond to food cues the same way.