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

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.

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Your answer touches on some important points about the necessity of a healthy diet, but there are a few areas where it could be more precise and informative. Misleading Claim: The claim that “eating less can lead to a longer life” is based on studies primarily conducted on animals, such as mice. While these studies suggest that caloric restriction can extend lifespan, the direct applicability to humans is still under investigation. It’s crucial to differentiate between caloric restriction and malnutrition. Eating less should not mean depriving the body of essential nutrients.

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I feel as though this statement is misleading as well. I like that your response stresses the importance of healthy eating for overall well-being and bodily functions. The reasoning behind eating well such as nutrient intake, cell regeneration, and toxin clearance is clear and informative. Food is key, and we need it to survive!

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You did a great job on stating your evidence to the claim of it being "misleading," you have a great argument and provided a link to where you found your sources as well. I also liked how your source came from a reliable site, where it's more credible to back up your point.

Answer 2

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 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.

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I think this is a great fact check. My only recommendation would be to expand on who should be eating less and who should be eating more. Maybe also dive into what role genetics and other factors play in a diet.

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

Answer 5

This claim holds some truth, but is exaggerated and misleading. While there is some research showing reducing calorie intake could extend lifespan, the data on humans remains limited, with most thorough research conducted on animals. In said animal studies, genetics played a significant role in the outcomes produced with factors like immune system health and traits related to red blood cells being the main variable that determined the animals lifespan. The researcher who conducted the largest study in this field, and the original article referred to in making their claim actually stated "If you want to live a long time, there are things you can control within your lifetime such as diet, but really what you want is a very old grandmother." They also found in this study that losing weight while on a restrictive diet can actually have reverse effects and lower your expected lifespan. The research that does exist on humans suggests that while caloric deficits and fasting can have benefits in relation to lifespan, these effects are most pronounced when the diet is nutritious itself. Essentially the importance lies less in the amount of calories but rather in what calories you are eating. The article itself is published by a credible source in the science world and cites all reputable sources/studies. 

Source 1- https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-03431-x 

Source 2 -https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/10/241009121347.htm#:~:text=For%20nearly%20a%20century%2C%20laboratory,best%20implement%20them%20in%20humans.

Source 3- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5685139/#sec16 

Comments

I like how you added multiple sources to back your claim along with quoting scientists in order to add credibility!

Answer 6

The claim itself may be true in some cases but slightly misleading without context provided. The general claim of eating less cannot be determined for any individual since we do not know the food quality consumed. Depending on what your eating is a main factor because if you eat less but it's unhealthy it will not lead to a longer life. According to an article by Harvard Health if you eat less you need to get the proper malnutrition so the claim eating less can lead to a longer life is true if you are eating healthy. So, there are major benefits to eating less as listed in the Harvard article, however, it depends on what circumstances the individual is in.

Source: https://www.health.harvard.edu/nutrition/eat-less-to-live-longer

Comments

I appreciate how the author clarified how misleading this claim is. Cutting back on your food intake will not increase your lifespan. The author points out that you can eat small amounts of food, but it is junk food. That isn't healthy and won't benefit you in any way. Compass by WebMD explains that it's not necessarily how much you eat but what foods you eat. They list heart-healthy foods as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and nuts and beans, to name a few.
https://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/features/longevity-foods

Answer 7

This article can be misleading because it claims that “eating less can lead to a longer life” but in reality it is not about eating less food but having a really low calorie diet. A study posted by Science uncovered how eating less calories may increase longevity. Leonard Guarente molecular biologist says that “cutting yeast cells glucose intake by as much as 75% can increase 25% lifespan from mice” (Seydel), this study was conducted in mice and it probes the point in mice but when it comes to humans this has not yet been proved by studies. Although this can decrease longevity it can also have side effects like low energy and compromise immune and reproductive systems. It is also not only about eating less calories but “having a healthier diet” which will help you prevent future diseases., provide you with new nutrients which will help generate new cells and clear out toxins (Ransohoff).  

Comments

I appreciate how you added specific data in order to back up your claim

Answer 8

The article is misleading, considering the title only says that eating less will extend someone's life. Every person has to intake a certain basis of calories for it to be considered healthy. The first study linked on the article found that cutting calories for mice causes weight loss and related metabolic changes. The article's title says that eating less, not calories, will increase lifespan, which stretches the truth. The food that is consumed is more important than the calories of that food, such as the nutrients and healthy amounts.

Answer 9

This answer is misleading due to the fact that it fails to mention the fact that this research expiriement was done on mice, not humans. The article also was exaggerated because the title made it seem as though eating less would automatically make you live longer which is simply untrue. Eating healthier foods with less calories does have a positive impact on your body as a whole which may make the probibility of death from diabetes or other illnesses due to unhealthy eating habits. However, food is fuel for our body and is extremely important. This misinformation being spread is harmful to others because of this.

Comments

I liked the overall idea of your factcheck. I thought you did a good job of picking things from the original article to specifically call out for being exaggerated or misleading. I think maybe your factcheck would have benefitted from citing a secondary source that proves your claim about eating healthier foods with less calories. Overall I thought the ideas and points in your factcheck were good.

Answer 10

The statement that is given is written in a way that is meant to mislead the reader, and make them read more of the article to find out the truth. It is important when you are choosing what to eat that you eat a healthy amount of calories, and not overeating. It is for sure true that overeating on calories can lead to a lot of health problems like being overweight, or having dietetic problems, that could possibly shorten your life. But fact-checking this looking at this article (https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/10/health/restricting-calories-longevity-wellness/index.html)  we can see that they state eating less in a healthy amount can lead to a 10-15% less risk of a mortality rate. however with this we can see that scientists believe these results were mediocre at best. But it is very important to make sure that eating less means you still need a healthy amount of food, and calories every day to live a healthy life.