>>>   GROUP         AVERAGE   OLDEST
>>> OF RATS         LIFESPAN  LIFESPAN
>>>A: controls          875   1200
>>>B: exercised         978   1208
>>>C: 30% restricted   1056   1322 (same weight as B)
>>>D: exercised &       995   1328
>>>   30% restricted
>>>E: 46% restricted   1088   1341 (same weight as D)
>>>As can be seen exercising can even reduce the average (but
>>> not maximum) lifespan of restricted Long Evans Rats.

>Doug, Do you know of other experiments that corroborate the findings
>above? It would interesting to know how hard and how much they
>exercised these rats and how a diet of raw foods would change the
>picture. In "Maximum Lifespan" by Roy Walford p. 138-139 writes: "From
>1930-1960, medical opinion remained ultra-conservative about the
>benefits of vigorous execercise, regarding it as a form of "stress"
>that would wear out of the body.  There was no evidence for this
>presumptive view, and we know that in contrast to machines which wear
>out the more they are used, the organs and tissues develop an adaptive
>increase in function with use that runs counter to the changes which
>occur in aging."
>On p. 151 he writes:" According to 78-year-old Thomas Cureton,
>professor emeritus of physical education at the University of Illinois
>and sometimes called the "father of physical fitness," without at
>least thirty minutes a day of nonstop exercise, women reach a peak of
>fitness at age 14 and start to decline by 22; men at 17, and start
>their decline at age 26.  There is even evidence that the organism
>can, by cronic exercise, substantially postpone the age-related
>decline in oxidative capacity of the brain, improving the information
>processing that goes on in the brain. I personally run twelve miles
>and swim one to two miles per week."

OOPS! I sent off the above too early.

Doug, It seems from the quotes above that Walford is a proponent of
moderate exercise, though he might have changed his position since then
(1983). I am not ready to accept your lethargy-is-best-theory,
especially as we do not know much about the longevity of these yogis.
According to Walford they were able to lower their temperature to a
consistant 94-95 degrees (without being in hybernation) while
maintaining a fruit & milk diet, but again what do we know about their
health or longevity?  And since it is very common to overdo ones age in
these parts of the world especially to impress foreigners, getting to
the truth of the matter can be quite tricky.

Best, Peter
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