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As a counterexample, the Minnesota Starvation Experiment found a substantial variety of negative effects from calorie restriction: > Among the conclusions from

As a counterexample, the Minnesota Starvation Experiment found a substantial variety of negative effects from calorie restriction: > Among the conclusions from the study was the confirmation that prolonged semi-starvation produces significant increases in depression, hysteria and hypochondriasis as measured using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Indeed, most of the subjects experienced periods of severe emotional distress and depression.[1]:161 There were extreme reactions to the psychological effects during the experiment including self-mutilation (one subject amputated three fingers of his hand with an axe, though the subject was unsure if he had done so intentionally or accidentally).[6] Participants exhibited a preoccupation with food, both during the starvation period and the rehabilitation phase. Sexual interest was drastically reduced, and the volunteers showed signs of social withdrawal and isolation.[1]:123–124 The participants reported a decline in concentration, comprehension and judgment capabilities, although the standardized tests administered showed no actual signs of diminished capacity. This ought not, however, to be taken as an indication that capacity to work, study and learn will not be affected by starvation or intensive dieting. There were marked declines in physiological processes indicative of decreases in each subject's basal metabolic rate (the energy required by the body in a state of rest), reflected in reduced body temperature, respiration and heart rate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Starvation_Experiment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Starvation_Experimen...

Permit 10y ago
There is a huge difference between a 50%+ calorie deficit and a 17% calorie deficit. The two aren't comparable.
- abandonliberty 10y ago
  Control period was 3,200, starvation was 1560. This seems high. Most dietary recommendations today are structured around a 2000 calorie diet. Wikipedia mentions that this was a healthy weight diet - they must have been very active and/or large. What calorie deficit is required to obtain 25% weight loss in 6 months?
  - Jemmeh 10y ago
    It says they tweaked it per person, those are just approx amounts. They were measuring weight to make sure it stayed on track for that loss. So I think the deficit varies slightly. It says they picked people from the CPS(civilian public service) work camps, so I would guess they were doing a lot of physical labor.
  - epimetheus 10y ago
    It's not really 2000 for everybody[0] "From USDA food consumption surveys of that era, the FDA knew that women typically reported consuming 1,600 to 2,200 calories a day, men 2,000 to 3,000, and children 1,800 to 2,500. But stating ranges on food labels would take up too much space and did not seem particularly helpful. The FDA proposed using a single standard of daily calorie intake—2,350 calories per day, based on USDA survey data. The agency requested public comments on this proposal and on alternative figures: 2,000, 2,300, and 2,400 calories per day." "Despite the observable fact that 2,350 calories per day is below the average requirements for either men or women obtained from doubly labeled water experiments, most of the people who responded to the comments judged the proposed benchmark too high. Nutrition educators worried that it would encourage overconsumption, be irrelevant to women who consume fewer calories, and permit overstatement of acceptable levels of “eat less” nutrients such as saturated fat and sodium. Instead, they proposed 2,000 calories as:" <snip - I highly recommend reading the rest> [0]-http://www.foodpolitics.com/2011/08/where-did-the-2000-calorie-diet-idea-come-from/ http://www.foodpolitics.com/2011/08/where-did-the-2000-calor...
  - vonmoltke 10y ago
    The participants were expected to perform manual labor every day and expected to walk no less than 22 miles per week. 1500 calories a day is really low under those conditons, and the 3200 was probably selected to maintain weight given them.
  - IanCal 10y ago
    > What calorie deficit is required to obtain 25% weight loss in 6 months? Depends what you originally weigh, but we can make a reasonable approximation of 3500cal/pound of fat, so ~20 calories per day deficit for each pound lost. So ~800/day if they weighed 160lbs to begin with. They were very active, that's an important part of the experiment.
Jemmeh 10y ago
>From that Wiki: "Their meals were composed of foods that were expected to typify the diets of people in Europe during the latter stages of the war: potatoes, rutabagas, turnips, bread and macaroni." What an interesting study. Seems they had that limited selection of foods though so it's not just about the calories in that case. I've seen a few documentaries of people doing CRON (Calorie Restriction Optimal Nutrition) and they focus on very nutrient dense foods. I think mostly fruit and veg. Eat, Fast & Live Longer is the documentary I saw most recently. Luigi Fontana, M.D., Ph.D. talks about it and they visit someone doing the CRON diet and run tests. Doc said he was very healthy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CRON-diet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CRON-diet http://optimal.org/voss/cron_overview.html http://optimal.org/voss/cron_overview.html
- literallycancer 10y ago
  >they visit someone doing the CRON diet and run tests. This is not very convincing. A blinded clinical study would be much better. I guess it's not very practical though.
  - Jemmeh 10y ago
    As I mentioned, Luigi Fontana is in the film and he's big on researching calorie restriction. Google shows he has been doing some studies on calorie restriction though I'm not sure which one to point you at, I haven't gotten to reading them yet since I just saw that documentary a few days ago. I know know they've done a study with rats that's shown a link between CR and longevity though and I can at least point you at that. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21792819 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21792819 That said this is just something I've been reading about recently, still looking into the topic so I don't have any real opinion on it yet.
raverbashing 10y ago
The keyword seems to be prolonged
bcheung 10y ago
The method for reducing calories can have dramatic differences in results. One of the flaws with the above cited study from what I remember was that it simply reduced calories but they still ate several times a day. The methods that are more associated with the positive benefits involve fasting windows. The macronutrients will also make a difference. A diet high in carbs would be horrible to use with reduced calories. The CR diets that seem more successful are ketogenic in nature.

Permit 10y ago

There is a huge difference between a 50%+ calorie deficit and a 17% calorie deficit. The two aren't comparable.

abandonliberty 10y ago
Control period was 3,200, starvation was 1560. This seems high. Most dietary recommendations today are structured around a 2000 calorie diet. Wikipedia mentions that this was a healthy weight diet - they must have been very active and/or large. What calorie deficit is required to obtain 25% weight loss in 6 months?
- Jemmeh 10y ago
  It says they tweaked it per person, those are just approx amounts. They were measuring weight to make sure it stayed on track for that loss. So I think the deficit varies slightly. It says they picked people from the CPS(civilian public service) work camps, so I would guess they were doing a lot of physical labor.
- epimetheus 10y ago
  It's not really 2000 for everybody[0] "From USDA food consumption surveys of that era, the FDA knew that women typically reported consuming 1,600 to 2,200 calories a day, men 2,000 to 3,000, and children 1,800 to 2,500. But stating ranges on food labels would take up too much space and did not seem particularly helpful. The FDA proposed using a single standard of daily calorie intake—2,350 calories per day, based on USDA survey data. The agency requested public comments on this proposal and on alternative figures: 2,000, 2,300, and 2,400 calories per day." "Despite the observable fact that 2,350 calories per day is below the average requirements for either men or women obtained from doubly labeled water experiments, most of the people who responded to the comments judged the proposed benchmark too high. Nutrition educators worried that it would encourage overconsumption, be irrelevant to women who consume fewer calories, and permit overstatement of acceptable levels of “eat less” nutrients such as saturated fat and sodium. Instead, they proposed 2,000 calories as:" <snip - I highly recommend reading the rest> [0]-http://www.foodpolitics.com/2011/08/where-did-the-2000-calorie-diet-idea-come-from/ http://www.foodpolitics.com/2011/08/where-did-the-2000-calor...
- vonmoltke 10y ago
  The participants were expected to perform manual labor every day and expected to walk no less than 22 miles per week. 1500 calories a day is really low under those conditons, and the 3200 was probably selected to maintain weight given them.
- IanCal 10y ago
  > What calorie deficit is required to obtain 25% weight loss in 6 months? Depends what you originally weigh, but we can make a reasonable approximation of 3500cal/pound of fat, so ~20 calories per day deficit for each pound lost. So ~800/day if they weighed 160lbs to begin with. They were very active, that's an important part of the experiment.

Jemmeh 10y ago

>From that Wiki: "Their meals were composed of foods that were expected to typify the diets of people in Europe during the latter stages of the war: potatoes, rutabagas, turnips, bread and macaroni." What an interesting study. Seems they had that limited selection of foods though so it's not just about the calories in that case. I've seen a few documentaries of people doing CRON (Calorie Restriction Optimal Nutrition) and they focus on very nutrient dense foods. I think mostly fruit and veg. Eat, Fast & Live Longer is the documentary I saw most recently. Luigi Fontana, M.D., Ph.D. talks about it and they visit someone doing the CRON diet and run tests. Doc said he was very healthy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CRON-diet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CRON-diet http://optimal.org/voss/cron_overview.html http://optimal.org/voss/cron_overview.html

literallycancer 10y ago
>they visit someone doing the CRON diet and run tests. This is not very convincing. A blinded clinical study would be much better. I guess it's not very practical though.
- Jemmeh 10y ago
  As I mentioned, Luigi Fontana is in the film and he's big on researching calorie restriction. Google shows he has been doing some studies on calorie restriction though I'm not sure which one to point you at, I haven't gotten to reading them yet since I just saw that documentary a few days ago. I know know they've done a study with rats that's shown a link between CR and longevity though and I can at least point you at that. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21792819 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21792819 That said this is just something I've been reading about recently, still looking into the topic so I don't have any real opinion on it yet.

raverbashing 10y ago

The keyword seems to be prolonged

bcheung 10y ago

The method for reducing calories can have dramatic differences in results. One of the flaws with the above cited study from what I remember was that it simply reduced calories but they still ate several times a day. The methods that are more associated with the positive benefits involve fasting windows. The macronutrients will also make a difference. A diet high in carbs would be horrible to use with reduced calories. The CR diets that seem more successful are ketogenic in nature.