Weight loss and metabolic improvements do not explain the longevity benefits of severe dietary restrictions. It is likely due to improved immune health.
Weight loss and metabolic changes might not be what lead to a longer life on a low-calorie diet. Researchers fed 960 mice low-calorie diets or subjected them to regular bouts of fasting. While the diet regimens did cause weight loss, factors such as immune health seemed to better explain the link with increased lifespan. Also key was overall resilience, presumably encoded in the animals’ genes, to the stress of reduced food intake. The most-resilient animals lost the least weight, maintained immune function and lived longer.
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