Eating less can lead to a longer life

Question

Weight loss and metabolic improvements do not explain the longevity benefits of severe dietary restrictions, research in mice shows.

Answer 1

According to www.nature.com, cutting down on calories by 40% yielded the longest longevity bump, and less calorie restriction also increased the average lifespan. This claim could be true in some cases, but to live a healthy lifestyle, you should not be dieting or fasting all the time.

Comments

This is correct but to expand on this idea,  lifestyle and what you eat are more important than how much you eat. Throughout the world, there are areas known as blue zones that are home to people with exceptionally long lives. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/okinawa-diet#the-diet
This article discusses the traditional diet in Okinawa, one of these blue zones. The people here mainly eat vegetables, especially potatoes, with lots of carbs and nutrient rich food. This style of eating has become more popular in the west, and diets like it are much more effective than simply cutting calories.

Answer 2

This answer is misleading, but it is important to understand why eating healthily, and healthy amounts of food is needed for human bodies to function properly and efficiently. To start, eating healthy provides the necessary nutrients that your body needs to create new cells, clear out toxins and to simply function every day. Furthermore, eating healthy now can help prevent future diseases such as diabetes and cancer. Also, you will have more energy and be more alert. Food is key! Don’t skimp out on it. 

Source - https://www.sutterhealth.org/health/preteens/nutrition-healthy-weight/why-eat-healthy

Comments

I like how you elaborated on the importance of eating healthier foods. Rather than just saying “food is energy, we need energy to function”, explaining what it can do is a nice juxtaposition to the original post. The use of a health care company website is also a great choice.

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I like your insight on how eating healthy gives us energy and helps us function every day. I saw that the source you cited was from an actual healthcare company, which is certainly a credible website. However, the section that your article specifically was in was "for preteens by preteens" and was written by a high schooler, meaning that it might not have had very reliable information, and the author didn't cite where they found their information.

Answer 3

This news is misleading because it says that eating less in general results in a longer lifespan which is only true if you are eating healthy which is the main aspect of my source below. Eating less calories is also very important. If you don't eat very much at all but you are eating unhealthy food then you do not get the same advantages of eating less.

Source- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/how-eating-less-may-help-extend-life-span-mice-fasting

Comments

This is a valid point but I think it can be expanded on by adding how much genetics plays a role in longevity according to the study you've provided. It should also be mentioned that the studies have not yet been translated or conducted to humans.

Answer 4

This may not be true. Monkeys were also tested in a similar way at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center in Madison since 1989. Monkeys on a reduced calorie diet have shown to live longer than the monkeys who eat whatever they want. However, results shown are greatly dependent on genetics, underlying health conditions, and the diet given the test subjects and feeding regimen. For example, perhaps the monkeys being monitored were heavier overall than average monkeys. Reducing weight of an overweight monkey to a normal range is different than reducing weight of a healthy monkey to keep it still at a healthy weight. There isn't enough research to conclude that this would be true for humans.

https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2014.14963