Aging may coincide with a declining gustatory function that can affect dietary intake and ultimately have negative health consequences. Taste loss is caused by physiological changes and worsened by events often associated with aging, such as polypharmacy and chronic disease. The most pronounced increase in elderly people's detection threshold has been observed for sour and bitter tastes, but their perception of salty, sweet, and umami tastes also seems to decline with age. It has often been suggested that elderly people who lose their sense of taste may eat less food or choose stronger flavors, but the literature has revealed a more complicated picture: taste loss does not appear to make elderly people prefer stronger flavors, but nutrition surveys have pointed to a greater consumption of sweet and salty foods.

Real-life eating habits thus seem to be more influenced by other, social and psychological factors. Elderly gustatory function is worth investigating to identify dietary strategies that can prevent the consequences of unhealthy eating habits in the elderly.

This paper discusses age-related changes in taste perception, focusing on their consequences on food preferences, and pointing to some strategies for preserving appropriate dietary habits in elderly people.

衰老可能与味觉功能下降有关，可能会影响饮食摄入并最终对健康造成负面影响。味觉丧失是由生理变化引起的，并因与衰老相关的多种事件而恶化，例如多药店和慢性病。观察到老年人对酸和苦味的检测阈值最明显的增加，但是他们对咸味，甜味和鲜味的感知也随着年龄的增长而下降。经常有人提出，失去味觉的老年人可能少吃些食物或选择口味更浓的食物，但文献揭示了一个更为复杂的图景：味觉丧失并没有使老年人偏爱口味更强的食物，但营养调查表明指出更多地食用甜咸食品。

因此，现实生活中的饮食习惯似乎更受其他社会和心理因素的影响。值得研究老年人的味觉功能，以确定可以预防老年人不健康饮食习惯后果的饮食策略。

本文讨论了与年龄有关的味觉变化，重点关注了它们对食物偏好的影响，并指出了一些可以保持老年人适当饮食习惯的策略。