2023-12-14 10:22:44
If overweight and obesity reduce life expectancy1we would be tempted to believe that eating less might allow us toimprove your general health. True or false ? We take stock.
Does eating less help you be healthy?
In our current society, the overconsumption of processed food products, high in calories and added sugar is responsible for an epidemic of so-called social diseases. To better understand all the issues, numerous studies have focused on the impact of reducing caloric intake on health. However, studies carried out on human subjects are relatively rare…
A study led by Dr. William Kraus of Duke University2was interested in effects of moderate restriction in caloric intake daily in the long term. By studying the participants for 2 years (in comparison with a control group), they realized thatby reducing their calorie consumption of approximately 12%, the ‘guinea pigs’ had lost, approximately, 10% of their body weight (of which 71% of the weight lost was fat mass). Beyond this fat loss, the study also highlighted a link between reduced calorie intake and a general improvement in health profile (lipids, blood pressure, inflammation, insulin sensitivity, etc.).
Eating less: the dangers
But eating less remains a huge subject. And can represent a danger. For years, theinjunction to lose weight, to get as close as possible to the skinny runway models, is very strong and eating less can – obviously – endanger your health. It is moreover this obsession which is at the heart of anorexia, of the dysmorphophobia suffered by people who constantly seek to reduce their food intake.
Among the most fashionable “diets”, fasting stands out. Perceived as a “good” way to purify your body and mind, it is however not so easy to implement. Even less in the long term. And is not suitable for everyone: the pure and simple elimination of all caloric intake can lead to serious complications in certain people, particularly in the elderly and frail.
Please note: it is not a question of severe calorie restriction (as can be the case in the treatment of obesity) but rather of eating a little less.
Convinced of young people’s interest in health, a group of American researchers from the University of Southern California3 had the idea of developing a diet that would reproduce the positive effects of fasting on the bodywithout requiring the complete abandonment of food. Reduce calorie intake for 5 days per month would improve immunity and reduce the risk of certain pathologies such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and cognitive decline. A theory supported by a pilot study which allowed them to assess the results: in human volunteers (average age 40) who followed a diet resembling fasting for a period of 5 days for 3 months, the researchers were able to observe an improved general state of health (compared to the initial state of health and compared to a reference group):
- Significant reduction in blood sugar,
- Decreased inflammation
- Decrease in certain growth factors involved in the progression of tumors.
Additional studies and clinical trials must still be carried out to really know all the impacts on health of this diet and, in particular, a possible benefit in the prevention of chronic diseases and the increase in life expectancy.
1. Body-mass index and all-cause mortality: individual-participant-data meta-analysis of 239 prospective studies in four continents, The Global BMI Mortality CollaborationThe Lancet in July 2016.
2. Metabolic Slowing and Reduced Oxidative Damage with Sustained Caloric Restriction Support the Rate of Living and Oxidative Damage Theories of Aging, Leanne M. Redman, Steven R. Smith, Jeffrey H. Burton, Corby K. Martin, Dora Il’yasova, Eric Ravussin.
3. A Periodic Diet that Mimics Fasting Promotes Multi-System Regeneration, Enhanced Cognitive Performance, and Healthspan, Sebastian Brandhorst, In Young Choi, Min Wei, Todd E. Morgan, Tanya B. Dorff, Valter D. Longo.
Read also
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The secrets of centenarians to live longer and in good health
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What you need to know to live better and longer
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#eat #healthier
