Assessment and Management of Appetite Loss in Older Adults: An ICFSR Task Force Report

The Appetite loss in older people is an important unmet clinical need in geriatrics. The International Conference on Frailty and Sarcopenia Research (ICFSR) organized a Task Force on April 20th 2022, in Boston, to discuss issues related to appetite loss in older people, in particular, the assessment tools currently available, its evaluation in the primary care setting, and considerations about its management. There is a high heterogeneity in terms of the etiology of appetite loss in older people and a gold standard assessment tool for evaluating this condition is still absent. Although this may render difficult the management of poor appetite in clinical practice, validated assessment tools are currently available to facilitate early identification of appetite loss and support care decisions. As research on biomarkers of appetite loss progresses, assessment tools will soon be used jointly with biomarkers for more accurate diagnosis and prognosis. In addition, efforts to foster the development of drugs with a favorable risk/benefit ratio to combat poor appetite should be strengthened.