Calorie restriction does not seem to lengthen lifespan in primates

"Nir Barzilai, a gerontologist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, says that the centenarians he studies have led him to believe that genetics is more important than diet and lifestyle. “They’re a chubby bunch,” he says." http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/nrg3290

Yet that paper concludes:

"Conclusions: In white adults, overweight and obesity (and possibly underweight) are associated with increased all-cause mortality. All-cause mortality is generally lowest with a BMI of 20.0 to 24.9." "

http://www.nature.com/news/calorie-restriction-falters-in-th...

BMI of 20.0 to 24.9 is pretty far from "chubby".

I have become more and more skeptical of "scientific studies" as a guide to life choices in general. Scientists are frequently partial, mistaken and downright foolish in hindsight.

Scientism (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientism) is the predominant 20th century religion, and while it is far better than the old religions, it is also far from perfect.

But let those who wish to follow scientific blessing now cease to restrict their calories, it's their funeral:

HBO: The Weight of the Nation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pEkCbqN4uo