"Breakfast of champions." What's the difference between eating less food and eating no food?
Well, Let's look at two different situations. In 1944, a study called the Minnesota Starvation Experiment was conducted and was designed to understand the effects of caloric restriction on the body in order to gain some knowledge that would help people starving in the aftermath of World War 2.
Thirty-six healthy men with an average height of 178cm (about five foot ten) and average weight of 69.3 kilograms (or 153 pounds) were selected. For three months, they ate a diet of 3,200 calories per day.
Then, for six months they ate only 1,570 calories. However, caloric intake was adjusted to attempt to have the men lose 1.1 kilograms per week, meaning some men got less than 1,000 calories per day.
The foods given were high in carbohydrates — things like potatoes, turnips, bread and macaroni. Meat and dairy products were rarely given.
During the six months, the men experienced profound physical and psychological changes. Everyone complained that they were too cold.
One subject talked about having to wear a sweater in July on a sunny day. The subjects' body temperature dropped to an average of 95.8 degrees Fahrenheit (35.4 degrees celsius) .
Physical endurance dropped by half, and strength showed a 21 percent decrease. The men experienced a complete lack of interest in everything except for food, which they were obsessed with.
They were plagued with constant and intense hunger. There were several cases of neurotic behavior like hoarding cookbooks and utensils.
Two participants had to be cut from the experiment because they admitted to stealing and eating several raw turnips and taking scraps of food from garbage cans. At first, the participants were allowed to chew gum, until some of the men began chewing up to 40 packages a day.
