Human
In general, humans can survive for two to eight weeks without food, depending on stored body fat. Survival without water is usually limited to three or four days. About 36 million humans die every year from causes directly or indirectly related to starvation. Childhood malnutrition is also common and contributes to the global burden of disease. However global food distribution is not even, and obesity among some human populations has increased rapidly, leading to health complications and increased mortality in some developed, and a few developing countries. Worldwide over one billion people are obese, while in the United States 35% of people are obese, leading to this being described as an "obesity epidemic." Obesity is caused by consuming more calories than are expended, so excessive weight gain is usually caused by an energy-dense diet.
Ellsworth Wareham
Loma Linda, Wareham's home town has been described as USA's only Blue Zone, an area where the longevity is appreciably higher than the national average and one of the four places in the world to have a substantial proportion of humans live past 100 years. The city has strict controls on the sale of alcohol, has a ban on smoking, and its largest supermarket does not sell meat. Wareham attributes his longevity to having adopted a vegan plant based diet about fifty years ago. Wareham's video "Dr. Ellsworth Wareham's Secret for Staying Young" has been featured on AOL, and tv.com. Wareham appears in "How to Live Forever", a documentary film about longevity. He has also presented talks on preventative medicine and what he believes constitutes a long healthful life.