In this review, we propose that actions of the lipid-lowering, apoptosis-inhibiting effects of
certain “longevity genes” oppose the life-shortening consequences of lipotoxicity and
lipoapoptosis. We note that lipotoxicity occurs whenever leptin action is deficient, or
whenever satiety is overridden, as in forced or voluntary overfeeding (“supersizing”). The
role of hyperleptinemia, we suggest, is to extend survival during famine by permitting the
storage of surplus calories in adipocytes without concomitant injury to nonadipose tissues …