Diet Restriction not Fat Loss

This article reports interesting findings on how extreme weight loss in mice experiencing caloric restriction did not get a longevity boost, however it presents them in a way that could confuse people. The article suggests the results challenge the scientifically proven "law," one could almost say, that reducing calories across various species of animals increases lifespan to the point of exceeding the maximum observed lifespan.  That is to say if the maximum lifespan of humans was 120 years, a human that practiced dietary restriction for his or her entire life would live longer than 120 years. 


This research at first appears to challenge these findings by showing that mice on dietary restriction who lost a lot of fat died earlier than mice on caloric restriction that lost less fat.  On closer examination of the research abstract there is clarification that they are working with mutant mice,  41 recombinant inbred strains of mice, and that it is the fat mice that lose a lot of fat that die earlier.  This discover actually dovetails well with existing literature that losing a lot of fat is a dangerous event for the body. Many chemicals are stored in adipose tissue, perhaps even natural toxins unrelated to the external environment, that can be released from lipid storage as fat cells decrease in volume.  These results support moderation with weight-loss versus drastic purge dieting.