Abstract
The most common eating disorder in the elderly in both community and hospital settings is food refusal. This may lead to weight loss and malnutrition with all the adverse consequences on independence and function. The management of disorders of eating in the elderly is a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge, requiring the combined skills of the medical and nursing staff. The causes are often multifactorial and require careful and repeated assessment of the patient's social, psychological, and medical history. Approach to treatment involves these factors, as well as ethical and cultural considerations. Eating is the most basic biological drive for survival in nature. In human societies there are additional cultural and social aspects that may override this instinct, as in the case of hunger strikes for political motives. In the elderly, food is one of the major sources of possible pleasure and it is the challenge for health providers to try and give this enjoyment to their patients for as long as possible.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Abbasi, A. A., & Rudman, D. (1994). Undernutrition in the nursing home: Prevalence, consequences, causes and prevention. Nutrition Reviews, 52, 113–122.
Ahronheim, J. C. (1996). Nutrition and hydration in the terminal patient. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, 12, 379–391.
Alford, D. M. (1986). Behavioral responses of the institutionalized elderly to eating and to food services. Nursing Homes, 35, 20–24.
Allaz, A-F., Bernstein, M., Rouget, P., Archinard, M., & Morabia, A. (1998). Body weight preoccupation in middle-age and ageing women: A general population survey. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 23, 287–294.
Amella, E. J. (1998). Assessment and management of eating and feeding difficulties for older people:ANICHE protocol. Geriatric Nursing, 19, 269–274.
Amella, E. J. (1999). Factors influencing the proportion of food consumed by nursing home residents with dementia. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 47, 879–885.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
American Dietetic Association. (1998). Position of the American Dietetic Association: Liberalized diets for older adults in long term care. Journal of the American Dietetic Assocation, 98, 201–204.
Athlin, E., Norberg, A., Axelsson, K., Mo¨ ller, A., & Nordstro¨ m, G. (1989). Aberrant eating behavior in elderly Parkinsonian patients with and without dementia: Analysis of video-recorded meals. Research in Nursing Health, 12, 41–51.
Axelsson, K., Norberg, A., & Asplund, K. (1984). Eating after a stroke—Towards an integrated view. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 21, 93–99.
Bayley, J. (1999, August 2). Last Jokes. TheNew Yorker, 75, 38–43.
Beck, D., Casper, R., & Andersen, A. (1996). Truly late onset of eating disorders: A study of 11 cases averaging 60 years of age at presentation. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 20, 389–395.
Berlin, R. M. (1990). Psychiatric consultation for elderly patients who refuse to eat. [letter] American Journal of Psychiatry, 147, 812.
Bernat, J. L., Gert, B., & Mogielnicki, R. P. (1993). Patient refusal of hydration and nutrition: An alternative to physician-assisted suicide or voluntary active euthanasia. Archives of Internal Medicine, 153, 2723–2728.
Berry, E. M. (1992). Undernutrition in the elderly: A physiological or pathological process? In H. Munro, & G. Shlierf (Eds.), Nutrition in the elderly. Nestlé Nutrition Workshop Series, 29, (pp. 65–78). New York: Raven.
Berthélemy, P., Bouisson, M., Vellas, B., Moreau, J., Vaysse, N., Albarede, J. L., & Ribet A. (1992). Postprandial cholystokinin secretion in elderly with protein-energy undernutrition. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 40, 365–369.
Brocker, P., Vellas, B., Albarede, A. L., & Poynard, T. (1994). A two-center, randomized, double blind trial of ornithine oxoglutarate in 194 elderly, ambulatory, convalescent subjects. Age and Ageing, 23, 303–306.
Buckler, D. A., Kelber, S. T., & Goodwin, J. S. (1994). The use of dietary restrictions in malnourished nursing home patients. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 42, 1100–1102.
Carr-Lopez, S. M., & Phillips, S. L. (1996). The role of medications in geriatric failure to thrive. Drugs and Aging, 9, 221–225.
Cassens, D., Johnson, E., & Keelan, S. (1996). Enhancing taste, texture, appearance, and presentation of pureed food improved resident quality of life and weight status. Nutrtion Reviews, 54 (suppl II), S51–S54.
Castle, S., Nguyen, C., Joaquin, A., Coyne, B., Heuston, C., Chan, A., Percy, L., & Ohmen, J. (1995). Megestrol acetate suspension therapy in the treatment of geriatric anorexia/cachexia in nursing home patients. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 43, 835–836.
Chapman, K. M., & Nelson, R. A. (1994). Loss of appetite: Managing unwanted weight loss in the older patient. Geriatrics, 49, 54–59.
Clarke, D. M., Wahlqvist, M. L., & Strauss, B. J. G. (1998). Undereating and undernutrition in old age: Integrating bio-psychosocial aspects. Age and Ageing, 27, 527–534.
Clarke, D. M., Wahlqvist, M. L., Rassias, C. R., & Strauss, B. J. G. (1999). Psychological factors in nutritional disorders of the elderly: Part of the spectrum of eating disorders. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 25, 345–348.
Clarkston, W. K., Pantano, M. M., Morley, J. E., Horowitz, M., Littlefield, J. M., & Burton, F. R. (1997). Evidence for the anorexia of aging: Gastrointestinal transit and hunger in healthy elderly vs. young adults. American Journal of Physiology, 272, R243–R248.
Conwell, Y., Pearson, J., & DeRenzo, E. G. (1996). Indirect selfdestructive behavior among elderly patients in nursing homes: A research agenda. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 4, 152–163.
Cosford, P., & Arnold, E. (1992). Eating disorders in late life: A review. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 7, 491–498.
Council for Nutritional Clinical Strategies in Long-Term Care (1999). Nutritional clinical strategies in long-term care: Anorexia in the elderly. Author.
Cullen, P., Abid, F., Patel, A., Coope, B., & Ballard, C. G. (1997). Eating disorders in dementia. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 12, 559–562.
Davidson, B., Vander Laan, R., Davis, A., Hirschfeld, M., Lauri, S., Norberg, A., Phillips, L., Pitman, E., Ying, L. U., & Ziv, L. (1990). Ethical reasoning associated with the feeding of terminally ill elderly cancer patients: An international perspective. Cancer Nursing, 13, 286–292.
Doty, R. L. (1991). Olfactory capacities in aging and Alzheimer's disease: Psychophysical and anatomic considerations. Annals of the New York Academy of Science, 640, 20–27.
Dresser, R. (1985). When patients resist feeding: Medical, ethical and legal considerations. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 33, 790–794.
Durnbaugh, T., Haley, B., & Roberts, S. (1996). Assessing problem feeding behaviors in mid-stage Alzheimer's disease. Geriatric Nursing, 17, 63–67.
Eaton, M., Mitchell-Bonair, I. L., & Friedmann, E. (1986). The effect of touch on nutritional intake of chronic organic brain syndrome patients. Journal of Gerontology, 41, 611–616.
Edelstein, E. L. (1992). Anorexia and other dyscontrol syndromes. Berlin: Springer Verlag.
Fabiny, A. R., & Kiel, D. P. (1997). Assessing and treating weight loss in nursing home residents. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, 13, 737–751.
Feutz, A., & Rapin, C-H. (1994). An observational study of the role of pain control and food adaptation of elderly patients with terminal cancer. Journal of the American Dietitic Association, 94, 767–770.
Gallagher, J. (1984, September). Health facilities' obligations when a patient refuses treatment. Health Progress 65, 40–43.
Gazewood, J. D., & Mehr, D. R. (1998). Diagnosis and manage ment of weight loss in the elderly. Journal of Family Practice, 47, 19–25.
Glick, S. M. (1997). Unlimited human autonomy-a cultural bias? New England Journal of Medicine, 336, 954–956.
Hall, P., & Driscoll, R. (1993). Anorexia in the elderly—An annotation. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 14, 497–499.
Hallfrisch, J., Muller, D., Drinkwater, D., Tobin, J., & Andres, R. (1990). Continuing diet trends in men: The Baltimore longitudinal study of aging (1961-1987). Journal of Gerontology, 45, M186–M191.
Hanauer, L. B. (1992, September, 30). Elderly patients afraid to eat [Letter]. Hospital Practice (Off Ed), 27 (9A), 19.
Hendy, H. M., Nelson, G. K., & Greco, M. E. (1998). Social cognitive predictors of nutritional risk in rural elderly adults. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 47, 299–327.
Hetherington, M. M. (1998). Taste and appetite regulation in the elderly. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 57, 625–631.
Hetherington, M. M., & Burnett, L. (1994). Aging and the pursuit of slimness: Dietary restraint and weight satisfaction in elderly women. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 33, 391–400.
Hodges, M. O., & Tolle, S. W. (1994). Tube feeding decisions in the elderly. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, 10, 475–488.
Jenkins, C., & Bruera, E. (1998). Assessment and management of medically ill patients who refuse life-prolonging treatments: Two case reports and proposed guidelines. Journal of Palliative Care, 14, 18–24.
Jury, M., & Jury, D. (1976). Gramp. Psychology Today, February, 57–63.
Kamel, H. K., Thomas, D. R., & Morley, J. E. (1998). Nutritional Deficiencies in long-term care: Part II. Management of protein energy malnutrition and dehydration. Annals of Long Term Care, 6, 250–258.
Kane, R. A., Caplan, A. L., Urv-Wong, E. K., Freeman, I. C., Aroskar, M. A., & Finch, M. (1997). Everyday matters in the lives of nursing home residents: Wish for the perception of choice and control. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 45, 1086–1093.
Katz, I. R., & DeFilippo, S. (1997). Neuropsychiatric aspects of failure to thrive in late life. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, 13, 623–638.
Kayser-Jones, J. (1997). Inadequate staffing at mealtime: Implications for nursing and health policy. Journal of Gerontology Nursing, 23, 14–21.
Keller, H. H. (1993). Malnutrition in institutionalized elderly: How and why? Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 41, 1212–1218.
Lange-Alberts, M. E., & Shott, S. (1994). Nutritional intake: Use of touch and verbal cueing. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 20, 36–40.
Lennard-Jones, J. E. (1999). Giving or withholding fluid and nutrients: Ethical and legal aspects. Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London, 33, 39–45.
Lloyd, G. E. R. (Ed.), (1986). Hippocratic writings. Middlesex, England: Penguin Books.
Lucas, A. R., Beard, C. M., O'Fallon, W. M., & Kurland, L. T. (1991). 50-year trends in the incidence of anorexia nervosa in Rochester, Minn.: A population-based study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 148, 917–922.
Lundquist, R. S., Bernens, A., & Olsen, C. G. (1997). Comorbid disease in geriatric patients: Dementia and depression. American Family Physician, 55, 2687–2694.
Markson, E. W. (1997). Functional, Social, and psychological disability as causes of loss of weight and independence in older community-living people. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, 13, 639–652.
Marcus, E. L., & Berry, E. M. (1998). Refusal to eat in the elderly. Nutrition Reviews, 56, 163–171.
Mattiasson, A-C., & Andersson, L. (1994). Staff attitude and experience in dealing with rational nursing home patients who refuse to eat and drink. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 20, 822–827.
McCardle, D. R., & Bader, D. (1991, April). Confronting conflict. A nursing home staff comes to grips with an elderly patient's decision to refuse nutrition. Health Progress, 72, 31–35.
McIntoch, J. L., & Hubbard, R. W. (1988). Indirect self-destructive behavior among the elderly: A review with case examples. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 13, 37–48.
McIntosh, W. A., Shifflett, P. A., & Picou, J. S. (1989). Social support, stressful events, strain, dietary intake, and the elderly. Medical Care, 27, 140–153.
Michaelsson, E., Norberg, A., & Norberg, B. (1987). A quality of life issue: Feeding methods for demented patients in end stage of life. Absence of pain is the goal for these patients. Geriatric Nursing, 8, 69–73.
Miles, S. H. (1985). The terminally ill elderly: Dealing with the ethics of feeding. Geriatrics, 40, 112–120.
Miller, D. K., Morley, J. E., Rubenstein, L. Z., & Pietruszka, F. M. (1991). Abnormal eating attitudes and body image in older undernourished individuals. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 39, 462–466.
Morley, J. E. (1996). Anorexia in older persons: Epidemiology and optimal treatment. Drugs and Aging, 8, 134–155.
Morley, J. E. (1997). Anorexia of aging: Physiologic and pathologic. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 66, 760–773.
Morley, J. E. (1999). Protein-energy malnutrition in older subjects. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 57, 587–592.
Morley, J. E., Flood, J. F., & Silver, A. J. (1990). Opioid peptides and aging. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 579, 123–132.
Morley, J. E., & Kraenzle, D. (1994). Causes of weight loss in a community nursing home. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 42, 583–585.
Morley, J. E., & Morley, P. M. K. (1995). Psychological and social factors in the pathogenesis of weight loss. Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 15, 83–109.
Murphy, C. (1999). Loss of olfactory function in dementing disease. Physiology and Behavior, 66, 177–182.
Nelson, F. L., & Farberow, N. L. (1980). Indirect self-destructive behavior in the elderly nursing home patient. Journal of Gerontology, 35, 949–957.
Nelson, F. L., & Farberow, N. L. (1982). The development of indirect self-destructive behaviour scale for use with chronically ill medical patients. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 2, 5–14.
Nemeroff, C. B., Widerlo¨v, E., Bissette, G., Walleus, H., Karlsson, I., Eklund, K., Kilts, C. D., Loosen, P. T., & Vale, W. (1984). Elevated concentrations of corticotropin-releasing-factor immunoreactivity in depressed patients. Science, 226, 1342–1344.
Nicholson, S. D., & Ballance, E. (1998). Anorexia nervosa in later life: An overview. Hospital Medicine, 59, 268–272.
Norberg, A., & Athlin, E. (1989). Eating problems in severely demented patients: Issues and ethical dilemmas. Nursing Clinics of North America, 24, 781–789.
Norberg, A., Bäckström, A., Athlin, E., & Norberg, B. (1988). Food refusal amongst nursing home patients as conceptualized by nurses' aids and enrolled nurses: An interview study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 13, 478–483.
Norberg, A., Hirschfeld, M., Davidson, B., Davis, A., Lauri, S., Lin, J. Y., Phillips, L., Pittman, E., Vander Laan, R., & Ziv, L. (1994). Ethical reasoning concerning the feeding of severely demented patients: An international perspective. Nursing Ethics, 1, 3–13.
Pobee, K. A., & LaPalio, L. R. (1996). Anorexia nervosa in the elderly: A multidisciplinary diagnosis. Clinical Gerontologist, 16, 3–9.
Ragneskog, H., Kihlgren, M., Karlsson, I., & Norberg, A. (1996). Dinner music for demented patients: Analysis of video-recorded observations. Clinical in Nursing Research, 5, 262–282.
Rolls, B. J. (1999). Do chemosensory changes influence food intake in the elderly? Physiology and Behavior, 66, 193–197.
Rosenbloom, C. A., & Whittington, F. J. (1993). The effects of bereavement on eating behaviors and nutrient intakes in elderly widowed persons. Journal of Gerontology, 48, S223–S229.
Roth, G. S., Ingram, D. K., & Lane, M. A. (1999). Caloric restriction in primates: Will it work and how will we know? Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 47, 896–903.
Russell, J., & Gilbert, M. (1992). Is tardive anorexia a discrete diagnostic entity? Australian and New-Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 26, 429–435.
Saltzman, J. R. (1995, Jan-Feb). Commentary on “Ornithine oxoglutarate improved nutrition in elderly patients'' ACP Journal Club, 122, 16.
Schiffman, S. S. (1997). Taste and smell losses in normal aging and disease. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 278, 1357–1362.
Schiffman, S. S., & Warwick, Z. S. (1993). Effect of flavor enhancement of foods for the elderly on nutritional status: Food intake, biochemical indices, and anthropometric measures. Physiology and Behavior, 53, 395–402.
Schostak, R. Z. (1994). Jewish ethical guidelines for resuscitation and artificial nutrition and hydration of the dying elderly. Journal of Medical Ethics, 20, 93–100.
Schreiber, S., & Lerer, B. (1997). ''Failure to thrive'' in elderly depressed patients: A new concept or a different name for an old problem? Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences, 34, 108–114.
Steele, C. M., Greenwood, C., Ens, I., Robertson, C., & Seidman-Carlson, R. (1997). Mealtime difficulties in a home for the aged: Not just dysphagia. Dysphagia, 12, 43–50.
Tayek, J. A., Bistrian, B. R., & Blackburn, G. L. (1988). Improved food intake and weight gain in adult patients following electroconvulsive therapy for depression. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 88, 63–65.
Thompson, M. P., & Morris, L. K. (1991). Unexplained weight loss in the ambulatory elderly. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 39, 497–500.
Volicer, L., Rheaume, Y., & Cyr, D. (1994). Treatment of depression in advanced Alzheimer's disease using sertraline. Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, 7, 227–229.
Volicer, L., Stelly, M., Morris, J., McLaughlin, J., & Volicer, B. J. (1997). Effects of dronabinol on anorexia and disturbed behavior in patients with Alzheimer's disease. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 12, 913–919.
Wallace, J. I., & Schwartz, R. S. (1997). Involuntary weight loss in elderly outpatients: Recognition, etiologies, and treatment. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, 13, 717–735.
Watson, R. (1993). Measuring feeding difficulty in patients with dementia: Perspectives and problems. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 18, 25–31.
Wilson, M-M. G., Vaswani, S., Liu, D., Morley, J. E., & Miller, D. K. (1998). Prevalence and causes of undernutrition in medical outpatients. American Journal of Medicine, 104, 56–63.
Winograd, C. H., & Brown, E. M. (1990). Aggressive oral refeeding in hospitalized patients. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 52, 967–968.
Wood, P., & Vogen, B. D. (1998). Feeding the anorectic client: Comfort foods and happy hour. Geriatric Nursing, 19, 192–194.
Wurtman, J. J., Lieberman, H., Tsay, R., Nader, T., & Chew, B. (1988). Calorie and nutrient intakes of elderly and young subjects under identical conditions. Journal of Gerontology, 43, B174–B180.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Berry, E.M., Marcus, EL. Disorders of Eating in the Elderly. Journal of Adult Development 7, 87–99 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009575706990
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009575706990