The Beck Depression Inventory is one of the most widely used depression scales with older respondents, but it has not been thoroughly investigated for possible age bias. In a study of 64 older widows, many subjects made spontaneous comments that called into question the face validity of the body-image change item on the Beck Depression Inventory. Analysis of the internal reliability of the scale corroborates the existence of age bias in this item. A change in the scoring of this item, reversing the scores of the second - and third statements, when using the Beck Depression Inventory with older women is proposed as a solution.