Re: World War I surviving veterans

[Guest guest]

Hi folks:

As previously noted, we **may** need to distinguish between people

who are 'naturally thin' (maybe indicating sub-clinical issues?) and

people with a naturally robust appetite who restrict their intake.

The restricted fruit flies, mice and monkeys in the successful

experiments showing extended lifespans are not 'naturally thin'.

They are restricted to less than they would like to eat. So are we.

I think.

Rodney.

>

> The Washington Post has a story about surviving WWI veterans. Today,

> 13 are known to be alive. They are all centenarians ranging in age

> from 106 to 115. The paper has pictures of the faces of 11 of them,

> and they don't look calorie restricted at all. As a matter of fact,

> most of them look as if they are a few pounds overweight, but none

> look obese.

>

> This reminds me of the study[1] of over 1 million people that were

> followed-up for 14 years. The researchers found the optimum BMI for

> longevity to be around 23. When this paper was discussed in the CR

> Society last August, there was a lot of denial from members who

> believe that you have to be thin to live long. The idea that you

have

> to lose weight and be thin with a BMI less than 20 was also

expressed

> by Dr. Walford (BT120YD p. 228).

>

> If you have a chance to get today's Washington Post, look at page A8

> to see the centenarians' faces. You will not see a single skinny or

> emaciated guy. None of them look as thin as Dr. Walford looks in

the

> picture that pops up when you open up DWIDP.

>

> I think that a moderate version of caloric restriction can help us

to

> avoid obesity and the associated maladies like diabetes and CVD, but

> so far, I don't see any evidence that overly thin people live

longer.

>

> Tony

>

> [1] Calle EE, Thun MJ, Petrelli JM, C, Heath CW

> Jr.

> Body-mass index and mortality in a prospective cohort

> of U.S. adults.

> N Engl J Med. 1999 Oct 7;341(15):1097-105.

> PMID: 10511607 http://tinyurl.com/k2jzg

> " In healthy people who had never smoked, the nadir of the curve for

> body-mass index and mortality was found at a body-mass index of 23.5

> to 24.9 in men and 22.0 to 23.4 in women. "

>