We have investigated how lifespan is curtailed, rather than extended, by unhealthy nutrition in early adulthood. Similar to transient, lifespan-extending interventions, it is likely that the long-term, detrimental effects of diet-induced FOXO inhibition are also due to persistent epigenetic modifications. Indeed, DAF-16 engages the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex to increase worm lifespan (Riedel et al., 2013). Our gene expression data show that, in Drosophila , a sugar-rich diet represses dFOXO to drive changes in expression of a number of epigenetic modifiers, which is likely to have substantial consequences for the epigenome. Elucidating these dfoxo -dependent epigenetic changes and how they could be reversed may form the basis of future treatments to remedy the cost of past diets.
Basically, high sugar inhibits FOXO and reduces longevity by reducing the body’s adaptability.