Nutritional Implications of Olfactory Dysfunction
An important question in this context in terms of the consequences of olfaction dysfunction relates to the intake of foods. Available data indicates that there is no simple answer. For example, Ferris and Duffy 77 report that over 70% of their sample (n=230) indicated that food enjoyment decreased with olfactory loss (see also 11, 76). However, the degree of loss was not directly correlated to loss of food enjoyment. Age appeared to be a factor, as younger subjects with olfactory loss indicated decreased enjoyment of food, which was not seen that often in older subjects, especially when the olfactory loss had been noted for more than three years. However, work by Mattes (for review see 85) indicates that anosmic patients do not experience systematic problems in relation to their food intake; both weight loss and gain of weight are reported.
Loss of weight appears to be particularly frequent in patients with qualitative olfactory dysfunction 86. These patients have also been shown to exhibit specific dislikes towards certain foods 9. In contrast, many anosmic patients may even report an increase in body weight which is often attributed to a "gustatory" reward in the form of a sweet desert following a dull and unexciting meal 9. Thus, while olfactory loss severely decreases enjoyment of foods, in general it does not appear to have a major effect on overall food intake, although subtle differences are reported. For example, in elderly women olfactory loss has been reported 87 to be associated with a lower preference for certain nutritious foods, while higher amounts of sweets and fats were eaten. This did not translate into a change of body mass index or energy intake. On the other hand, interventions aimed at the amplification and enhancement of foods have been reported to be beneficial in terms of both improvement of nutrient quality 88 or increase in caloric consumption 89, 90 (for review see 91).
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