“Weight loss in an older person”
My mom is 90. She has lost a lot of weight in the last year. She is pretty healthy otherwise, she just doesn't want to eat. Should she try an appetite stimulant?
8 Answers
No. Currently there is no FDA approved appetite stimulants for the elderly. Instead, the treatment of underlying condition that contributes to weight loss is the key for treatment of unintentional weight loss in the elderly.
Weight loss has to be compared. It is individual based. Depends on individual BMI. If she was overweight than if less eating brings her BMI to normal range, then no supplement is needed. However, rule out depression before anything else.
Any change in weight in an older patient warrants a medical work up. An
appointment with her medical provider should be made. In the meantime,
social interventions such as making sure she has company for meals, help
with obtaining food and help preparing meals could be tried.
An appetite stimulant is not generally recommended
appointment with her medical provider should be made. In the meantime,
social interventions such as making sure she has company for meals, help
with obtaining food and help preparing meals could be tried.
An appetite stimulant is not generally recommended
At this age, need to rule out other metabolic cause or depression, see your physician.
yes that is ok for appetite stimulant ,but we should look into the reason of poor appetite , i.e. thyroid malfunction, medication side effect , swallowing problems etc
Shannon Tapia
Geriatrician
At this time, would need more information. Is she on any other medications (sometimes meds can suppress appetite)? Has she had any blood work (CMP, CBC, TSH) or imaging studies recently? If she is healthy otherwise, she needs a medical workup first and likely a memory eval before jumping to appetite stimulants. If there isn't a medical cause, often early and unrecognized dementia (Alzheimer's) leads to weight loss because people just forget to eat or if they've already eaten.
It is very important to be seen by a physician, could be many conditions such as depression, metabolic, there is no appetite stimulant available, need to treat the underlying condition first and find out what happened, again full history and work-up.
The concern for weight loss is real, but I would not recommend an appetite stimulant. Appetite stimulants will not increase muscle mass. It has not been shown to increase muscle mass. The more effective way is to hand-feed or even question any underlying depression...?
