For Elderly, Extra Pounds May Lower Mortality Rates

[Guest guest]

Anyone else notice this?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060515231417.htm

a~z

[Guest guest]

Hi A=Z:

Again we see an apparent disagreement between the animal studies,

including studies in animals that are quite closely related to humans,

and studies in humans themselves. What are we to make of this?

Well it may come down to the nature of the studies. When studies are

done in animals the animals do not decide, or approve, whether they

are one of the subjects or are put in the control group instead. The

members of the groups in animal studies are selected randomly. This

is very definitely not true of studies in humans.

In human studies many members of the 'slim' study group are self

selected, and not infrequently for reasons of which they themselves

are unaware. One might call these 'aberrant' group members.

The 'slim' group will include people who are slim because of

intestinal absorption problems, which presumably is not likely to

benefit longevity, especially if particular important nutrients are

selectively not absorbed; or who are slim because there is underlying,

but not yet symptomatic, disease which may not show symptoms until

much later in life. In addition the slim group will include people

who for some reason feel a need to be thin, so eat less, but pay

insufficient attention to nutrient RDAs.

Yet in animal studies, because of the random selection procedures,

both the subjects and the controls will have equal representation of

such 'aberrant' individuals. And in these animal studies some members

of both groups die early, and among them, in equal quantities in both

groups, the aberrant individuals mentioned above.

So I believe that if studies were to be done in humans where

participants were randomly selected and the subjects caused to be much

slimmer by being involuntarily 40% restricted then we would see

results in humans very similar to those seen in animals.

If the above rationale is on the ball, then the people most likely to

derive the longevity benefits of CRON are those with very healthy

appetites who somehow manage to comply with the appropriate level of

restriction. This may mean, ironically, that obese people, because

they evidently are not members of the 'aberrant' involuntarily slim

group, are likely to benefit in spades, if only they could control

their intake.

However I have an alternative, and rather different, slant on this,

which I may elucidate in a later post.

Rodney.

>

> Anyone else notice this?

>

> http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060515231417.htm

>

> a~z

>