The oldest living person in the world - 117-year-old Misao Okawa - died on Wednesday morning due to natural causes.

Okawa passed away in the nursing home where she had been residing since 1997, located in Osaka, Japan, according to CNN.

Staff members at the nursing home revealed that Okawa had recently started to eat less, and within the last ten days, she stopped eating entirely.

Her caregivers recognized her decreasing appetite as a sign that she may have given up, as many workers recalled that Okawa liked to indulge and enjoyed eating.

"She was a person with mild character, and loved to eat so much. Her favorite food was sushi and udon noodles," said Satoshi Yoshioka, who is an employee at the nursing home.

"She had eaten a lot of cake for her birthday last March 5."

Okawa's death comes less than a month after she celebrated her birthday with her closest family members, NBC News reported.

She leaves behind three children, four grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Her eldest son is 92 years old.

The Guinness Book of World Records dubbed Okawa as the oldest living person in 2013.

When reporters asked Okawa if she thought 117 years was long or short, she replied, "It's short."

"I think eating was her motivation to live, and when she lost it, she passed away," Yoshioka said.