Loss of appetite in elderly,what can be done to increase appetite?

My grandma is 97 and still going strong on all fronts. She still walks to the village almost every day. Her weight is normal.

Some very old people are not very active so they don't need a lot of food. However, if too much weight loss affects performance and it bothers the old person (as opposed to bothering her carers), then one way of gaining appetite is to spend time outdoors as much as possible and try to be more physically active. Clean fresh air with as much physical activity as possible will boost appetite and health.

Many old people "give up" and sit there all day just waiting for death. When an old animal has had enough of life it stops eating. Sometimes it's a good idea to just allow nature to take its course.

From my experience from several elderly people we've taken care of, there's nothing you can do. The only thing I can suggest is to find things she's fond of and try and remind her how fond she is of them.

My experience was that my mother in law loved chocolate, so she ate all sorts of chocolate related products - as she got older and her appetite reduced we were able to get her to drink chocolate shakes, especially the ones with added vitamins.

The appetite could come back on its own, but you have to do the best you can and not blame yourself for her loss of desire to eat.

I agree with simeyC, but let me add this.. I cared for my mother 24/7 for the last three years of her life until she died at the age of 93. During those three years, she also suffered appetite loss, and I struggled to keep her weight above 100 lbs, but found that several tiny meals daily did the trick.. half slice of toast, 1/2 cup soup, 1/4 cup applesauce, 1/2 ounce of meat.. you get the picture.. when I say tiny, I mean tiny, and when I say several, I mean up to 10 times a day.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.