Leanness and longevity

Abstract

It is a well recognised fact that on average obese people do not live as long as people of average weight. Animal experiments have also shown that the relationship between weight and longevity can be taken one stage further: restriction on food intake to levels well below normal desire will extend the life span of laboratory rats beyond that of normal weight rats who have been given free access to food. The biochemical mechanisms underlying the effects of food restriction are not well understood and in any case they are complicated by factors such as rat strain, effects on the animal of confinement, lack of exercise and exposure to other stresses encountered in the unnatural surroundings of the laboratory.

Citation

(1983), "Leanness and longevity", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 83 No. 3, pp. 14-14. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb058950