Low-calorie diet slows aging in monkeys: Study

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Low-calorie diet slows aging in monkeys: Study
www.chinaview.cn 2009-07-10 15:43:21

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BEIJING, July 10 (Xinhuanet)-- Low-calorie diet increases lifespan of monkeys, according to a new U.S. study. It suggests that caloric restriction could also delay aging in humans.
In the 20-year-old study, rhesus monkeys were put on a strict reduced-calorie diet. The monkeys were three times less likely to die from age-related diseases like heart disease, cancer and diabetes than monkeys that ate as they liked, according to the scientists.
"We have been able to show that caloric restriction can slow the aging process in a primate species," Richard Weindruch of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, who led the study, said in a statement.
"We observed that caloric restriction reduced the risk of developing an age-related disease by a factor of three and increased survival," Weindruch said.
He said the results should have "relevance in humans" as monkeys are "closely related to humans".
The key to the diet was to make sure that it made it nutritious. The reason why historically people had died younger even though they ate less was because the diet was not nutritious.
"It is important that we are studying calorie restriction and not malnutrition, so there is a fine line between a low enough level of calories but still enough to provide adequate nutrition," he said.
"Just because humans may have been eating less previously, it does not necessarily follow that they were eating a complete, nutritious diet."
The study was published Thursday in by Science magazine.
(Agencies)
Editor: Huma Sheikh