>Beware starting calorie restriction too young or too quickly. I wish
>I had an authoritative source for this, but the CR FAQ makes no such
>warning.
You're not going to find authoritative sources on this because it's not much
of a problem. CR before adulthood will stunt growth, but once brain growth
is done in early childhood it won't cause significant health problems.
Losing too fast can cause trouble (e.g. anorexics), particularly heart
trouble; in mouse models you need about 6 months to lose the weight safely.
Whether this translates to humans needing 6 months or 5 years is an open
question. Few, however, can maintain a level of CR intense enough to lose
that much weight (30-40% below a normal lean weight) in any circumstances.
>All I can say is that in my own notes on calorie restriction
>(http://www.thehub.com.au/~mitch/extro/lifex.html#cr) I've recorded
>several comments to this effect - most likely picked up from
>sci.life-extension. One even went so far as to say, "Don't start
>until you're 45."
That one's off the deep end. The question is more whether it needs to be
started before puberty for maximum effect. Some research has indicated a
loss of effectiveness with late onset of CR.