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Originally Posted by Inziladun
Perhaps it's connected with something innate in the Hobbit makeup: their ability to get along with one another and lack of greed or ambition. That is to say, a lack of stress?
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No war and attendant famines caused by scorched earth methods of depriving the enemy supplies would obviously be a reason for Hobbitish longevity, and yes, they had far less stress than Gondorions or Rohirrim, who were under constant threat of attack over large periods of their history. It could be that Hobbits ate far more vegetables and grains as well than their carnivorous Mannish counterparts.
In addition, being far smaller than Men, Hobbits could maximize crop yields and rely less on bad tillage and stony land even as their population grew. Also, a head of cabbage is a head of cabbage and size-wise could feed a larger contingent of Hobbits than a family of Men.
There is a genetic standpoint as well. The Southern Dunedain washed out their blood over a period of time, whereas the Hobbits remained insular.