Presently, the number of people age 65 years and older in the U.S. is more than 54 million. N.C. On average, people start to experience sensory losses in their mid-50s, according to Schiffman. The losses become more pronounced when they reach the age of 60 or 70. Studies show that taste detection and recognition thresholds in healthy older people for sweet, sour, salty and bitter tend to be 2.5 times higher than those in younger adults.
Losses are far greater in older adults with sicknesses.
For smell perception, detection thresholds in the elderly are 11 times higher than those in younger adults. Schiffman said these sensory losses not only arise from normal aging, but also from diseases and certain medications, such as antirheumatic and antiproliferative drugs. Schiffman said sensory systems of taste and smell have closer anatomical connections to the neural pathways involved in digestion than the other senses. Therefore, enhancing the flavors of foods and beverages can generate salivary and gastric acid, which in turn will boost the digestive process and may increase food intake, Schiffman added. Moreover, special eating programs for persons with cancer, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other age-related illnesses that account for sensory losses of these groups are more successful in meeting nutritional needs than programs that ignore sensory factors.