Alzheimer’s and dementia patients often eat less, and have difficulty eating, because of problems like chewing, swallowing or digesting food.
Alzheimer’s and dementia patients sometimes lose interest in eating. This can happen for a long list of reasons including loss of taste, the ability to smell, memory loss, and thinking they already ate.
Medications can also effect appetite, and can increase constipation.
When a person has Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia, these problems can become more pronounced, and often effect mood, behavior, and physical functioning.
By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer’s Reading Room
All of these problems are caused by changes in the brain and effect eating as the disease progresses.
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As Alzheimer’s or dementia progresses getting a patient to eat a nutritious meal, or to eat enough, can become a problem.
This can…
