Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 1 hr ago
Riken study links limited food in young fruit flies to longer lives
A team at Riken in Japan found that fruit flies given less food during an early stage of life lived about 20% longer than flies fed without limits.
The flies received less food for a short period as larvae, then ate normally as adults.
The researchers linked the effect to a protein called Lsp2, which appears to help control lifespan.
The finding gives some support to a Japanese saying that eating less may be good for health, but the experiment was done in flies.
Earlier research had found that limiting food could extend life in some animals, though scientists did not know why.
In the fly study, food limits also made adults smaller and females laid fewer eggs, but these effects did not occur when Lsp2 was inactive.
The team says it does not know whether the same process works in humans and plans to continue researching how eating may affect health.
A Riken team found that fruit flies given less food during an early stage of life lived about 20% longer.
The food restriction was limited to the larval stage, from three to four days after hatching, and the flies ate normal food as adults.
The team linked the effect to the protein Lsp2, which it said helps control lifespan.
The findings applied to male and female flies, but the study does not show whether the same effect occurs in humans.
- Who
- A team at Riken in Japan, led by team director Fumiaki Obata, studied fruit flies.
- What
- The team found that limiting food during the larval stage was linked to about 20% longer lifespans. It linked the effect to the protein Lsp2.
- When
- Food was limited from three to four days after hatching.
- Where
- At Riken in Japan.
- Why
- The team investigated why young animals given an appropriate amount of food can live longer.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
A researcher at Cornell University studied rats that lived longer when they ate less food while still getting enough to stay healthy.
The Riken team gave the fruit flies less food during the larval stage.
The flies ate normal food as adults, and the team found they lived about 20% longer than flies without food limits.
- Institution
- Riken, Japan
- Researcher
- Fumiaki Obata, team director
- Animal studied
- Fruit flies
- Food restriction
- From three to four days after hatching
- Lifespan change
- About 20% longer for males and females
- Protein linked to effect
- Lsp2
What people are saying
Right now, we are not sure if the same thing happens in humans, and this does not mean that eating certain foods is better.
Eat until you are eight-tenths full, and you won't need a doctor.
Sources
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