Abstract
This article argues that dietary restriction would not increase longevity in species able to leave a place where they are subjected to starvation. Human beings can emigrate when feeding conditions are a threat to survival and thus they would not live longer if subjected to dietary restriction.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Austad SN (1989) Life extension by dietary restriction in the bowl and doily spider Frontinella pyramitela. Exp Geront 24:83–92
Bertrand HA, Herlihy JT, Ikeno Y, Yu BP (1999) Dietary restriction. In: Yu BP (ed) Methods in aging research. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 271–300
Bodkin NL, Alexander TM, Ortmeyer HK, Johnson E, Hansen BC (2003) Mortality and morbidity in laboratory-maintained Rhesus monkeys and effects of long-term restriction. J Geront Biol Sci 58A:212–219
Bodkin NL, Ortmeyer HK, Hansen BC (2005) A comment on the comment: relevance of nonhuman primate dietary restriction to aging in humans. J Geront Biol Sci 60A:951–952
Boggs CL, Ross CL (1993) The effect of adult food limitation on life history traits in Speyeria mormonia (Lepideptora: nymphalidae). Ecology 74:433–441
Carey JR, Liedo P, Harshman L, Zhang Y, Müller HG, Partridge L, Wang JL (2002) Life history response of Mediterranean fruit flies to dietary restriction. Aging Cell 1:140–148
Carey JR, Liedo P, Müller HG, Wang JL, Zhang Y, Harshman L (2005) Stochastic dietary restriction using a Markov-chain feeding protocol elicits complex, life history response in medflies. Aging Cell 4:31–39
Cooper TM, Mockett RJ, Sohal BH, Sohal RS, Orr WC (2004) Effect of caloric restriction of the housefly, Musca domestica. FASEB J, on line, 10.1096/fj03–1464fje
Fanestil DD, Barrows CH (1965) Aging in the rotifer. J Geront 20:462–469
David J, van Herrewege J, Fouillet P (1971) Quantitative under-feeding of Drosophila: Effects on adult longevity and fecundity. Exp Geront 6:249–257
de Grey ADNJ (2005) The unfortunate influence of the weather on the rate of ageing: why human caloric restriction or its emulation may only extend life expectancy by 2–3 years. Gerontology 51:73–82
Demetrius L (2004) Caloric restriction, metabolic rate, and entropy. J Geront Biol Sci 59A:902–915
Holliday R (1989) Food, reproduction and longevity: Is the extended lifespan of calorie-restricted animals an evolutionary adaptation? BioEssays 10:125–127
Ingram DK, de Cabo R, Anson RM, Ottinger MA, Lane MA, Roth GS, Mattison JA (2005) Calorie restriction in nonhuman primates: impact on aging, disease, and frailty In: Carey R, Robine JM, Michel JP, Christen Y (eds) Longevity and frailty. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp 39–56
Kirk RL (2001) Dietary restriction and aging: comparative tests of evolutionary hypotheses. J Geront Biol Sci 56A:B123–B129
Klass MR (1977) Aging in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans: major biological and environmental factors influencing life span. Mech Ageing Dev 6:413–429
Klass MR, Hirsh D (1976) Non-ageing developmental variant of Caenorhabditis elegans. Nature 260:523–525
Lane MA, Mattison JA, Roth GS, Brant LJ, Ingram DK (2004) Effects of long-term diet restriction on aging and longevity in primates remain uncertain. J Geront Biol Sci 59A:405–407
Le Bourg E (2003) Delaying aging: could the study of hormesis be more helpful than that of the genetic pathway used to survive starvation? Biogeront 4:319–324
Le Bourg E, Minois N (2005) Does dietary restriction really increase longevity in Drosophila melanogaster? Ageing Res Rev 4:409–421
Masoro EJ, Austad SN (1996) The evolution of the antiaging action of food restriction: a hypothesis. J Gerontol Biol Sci 51A:B387–B391
Ottinger MA, Mobarak M, Abdelnabi M, Roth G, Proudman J, Ingram DK (2005) Effects of calorie restriction on reproductive and adrenal systems in Japanese quail: are responses similar to mammals, particularly primates? Mech Ageing Dev 126:967–975
Phelan JP, Rose MR (2005) Why dietary restriction substantially increases longevity in anima models but won’t in humans. Ageing Res Rev 4:339–350
Ravussin E (2004) A tribute to Roy Walford: from biosphere 2 to CALERIE. Exp Geront 39:923–925
Shanley DP, Kirkwood TBL (2000) Calorie restriction and aging: A life-history analysis. Evolution 54:740–750
Stearns SC (1992) The evolution of life history strategies. University Press, Oxford
Verdone-Smith C, Enesco HE (1982) The effect of temperature and of dietary restriction on life span and reproduction in the rotifer Asplanchna brightwelli. Exp Geront 17:255–262
Woodhead AD (1985) Feral fishes. In: Lints FA (ed) Non-mammalian models for research on aging. Karger, Basel, pp 22–50
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Le Bourg, É. Dietary restriction would probably not increase longevity in human beings and other species able to leave unsuitable environments. Biogerontology 7, 149–152 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10522-006-9014-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10522-006-9014-1