Effects of intermittent feeding upon growth and life span in rats.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Animal research (rodent longevity trial)
PubMed 7117847 · doi:10.1159/000212538
What was done
Male Wistar rats were maintained from weaning until death under either ad libitum feeding (AL, n = 28) or every-other-day feeding (EOD, n = 24). The investigators measured lifespan, Gompertzian mortality rates, body weight, and growth parameters.
What was found
The mean lifespan of the EOD group was 83% longer than that of the AL group, with Gompertzian analysis suggesting a retarded rate of aging. The EOD group exhibited reduced body weight and growth rates, but their growth duration was 75% longer than that of the AL group. Significant positive relationships were found between lifespan and growth rate parameters in the AL group, but no significant relationships emerged between lifespan and body weight parameters in the EOD group.
Why it matters
This study provides experimental animal evidence that alternate-day fasting substantially extends lifespan and prolongs the developmental growth phase.
Limits
The study was conducted in a small sample of male laboratory rats (total n = 52), limiting direct translation to females or humans. Absolute lifespan values, exact variance estimates, and specific p-values are not reported in the abstract.
Cited by
- supports Don Ingram demonstrated that initiating every-other-day fasting in young adult rats can extend their lifespan by up to 50%.