Sensory Insights in Aging: Exploring the Impact on Improving Dietary Through Sensory Enhancement

Abstract

The trend of global population aging is becoming increasingly evident, with the proportion of the elderly population continuously rising, making it one of the most profound demographic trends of the 21st century. As people age, their sensory functions generally decline, such as vision, hearing, smell, and taste, which not only affects their food choices and enjoyment but can also lead to health issues like malnutrition and weight loss. In addition, chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and the COVID-19 pandemic can exacerbate sensory impairments in older adults. Currently, most sensory evaluation methods are designed for healthy adults and have limitations when applied to the elderly, such as visual impairment making it difficult to see scoring sheets or linear scales, and hearing impairment preventing understanding of questions and requests from sensory analysts, leading to potential biases and inaccuracies in data collection. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop sensory evaluation systems suitable for older adults to better understand and address their sensory changes due to aging and health conditions. This review summarizes the sensory abilities, cognitive functions, and physical health status of older adults; explores how to improve their food intake and appetite through flavor-enhanced foods; and reviews current sensory evaluation methods, pointing out their limitations and the necessity for developing new approaches to meet the diverse needs of older adults. Future research should deepen the understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms of sensory decline, develop implicit sensory evaluation methods based on EEG and facial microexpressions, and optimize personalized sensory compensation strategies that are safe and sustainable in order to improve the dietary health and quality of life of older adults.