Last Word on Obesity / Calorie Restriction / Mortality / Weight For Now
It has to be said, I feel odd pointing to a Michael Fumento piece as something worth reading. That, given his anti-science positions on embryonic stem research and blatant cherry picking of studies to support them. The man seems to be on more solid ground with the topic of weight, mortality, health and longevity - and that recent study that too many people have taken entirely the wrong way - however.
These all dovetail with findings that in every species from worms to monkeys, calorie restriction increases longevity. The leanest animals also look and act younger. In the only calorie restriction analysis of people, "The results clearly suggest that humans react to such a nutritional regimen similarly to other vertebrates." If Flegal's findings were valid, they would stand biology on its head.
He is more than a little behind the times on studies of calorie restriction and healthy life extension in humans, however - there has been more compelling work of late.