Differential effects of intermittent feeding and voluntary exercise on body weight and lifespan in adult rats.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Preclinical animal experiment
PubMed 6848584 · doi:10.1093/geronj/38.1.36
What was done
Male Wistar rats were housed in standard laboratory cages or activity-wheel cages starting at 10.5 or 18 months of age. Within each caging condition, rats were assigned to either ad libitum feeding or intermittent feeding (fed every other day). The effects on body weight and lifespan were evaluated.
What was found
Compared to ad libitum feeding, intermittent feeding reduced body weight and increased lifespan at both starting ages and across both housing conditions. Voluntary exercise in activity wheels decreased body weight only in the 10.5-month-old ad libitum-fed group and did not affect survival in either age cohort. The abstract reports no numerical values, effect sizes, or p-values.
Why it matters
The findings indicate that dietary restriction through intermittent fasting can extend lifespan even when initiated in mature adult rodents, whereas voluntary exercise initiated at mature ages does not confer a longevity benefit.
Limits
This is an animal study in male rats, limiting direct applicability to humans. The abstract omits sample sizes, exact lifespan durations, mortality curves, and statistical test metrics.
Cited by
- supports Don Ingram demonstrated that initiating every-other-day fasting in young adult rats can extend their lifespan by up to 50%.