Fewer Calories Equal a Longer Life

July 12, 2009

Canto the thin, Owen the not so thin. Two different paths in aging.

Canto the thin, Owen the not so thin. Two different paths to aging.

Studies into the connection between longevity and reduced caloric intake all point in the same direction: reduced caloric intake equals increased longevity. It appears that simple. But research helping scientists go down this path has been anything but simple.

Earlier studies of a variety of life forms from yeast, to roundworms, to mice have all generated the same result: creatures large and small live longer when they consume less. Now for the first time these studies have been extended into the primate world and have yielded much the same result.

After 20 long years of waiting, scientists reported this week in the national journal Science that rhesus monkeys eating a third less food than normal monkeys show a significantly slower rate of aging. Researchers first discovered the connection between lean diets and extended life spans in studies of rodents done in 1935. Of course with the average life span of a rodent being two-years these studies are easier to track, but less meaningful when applied to possible outcomes in humans.

Twenty years ago researchers at the University of Wisconsin made the commitment to studying a group of 76 rhesus monkeys over a period of two or even three decades. This first report released twenty years after the start of the study has already resulted in significant indications that what’s true in roundworms and mice, is most likely true in humans too.

The average rhesus monkey has a life span of 27 years. Pictured here are Canto, a slender and rather handsome fellow of 27. To his right is Owen, 29, a plumper and more tired colleague of Canto. For 20 years Owen has been welcomed to eat his fill whereas Canto has had a diet of approximately 33 percent fewer calories. Of the original set of rhesus monkeys that have been studied, a number have died of causes not related to aging. But of those who have been fortunate enough to live into their senior years, 33% of the non-restricted diet group have died of age related diseases while only 13% of the diet restricted group have died.

Rhesus monkeys have been known to live as long as 40 years, so this study probably won’t conclude for another fifteen years. With each passing year it will be increasingly interesting to note the inevitable decline of each member of both test groups. To this point it has been observed that the calorie restricted monkeys have significantly lowers incidents of heart disease, cancer, and brain disease.

Obviously, few people can successfully keep to a diet of 33% fewer calories. Scientists are using this growing body of research to look for drugs that might mimic the effects of caloric restriction. One such drug is resveratrol.

As stated earlier, while the results appear to be fairly universal and simple, the biology involved in reaching these outcomes is far more complex. Most likely, dietary restrictions set off a similar response in all animal genomes: when food is scarce, life resources are switched into survival mode. The object is to find drugs that trick these mechanisms into thinking that calorie reduction is occurring when people are consuming their normal diet. Perhaps fulfilling that ancient human ambition to have your cake and eat it too.

There are several chemicals that mimic resveratrol and can be given in smaller doses. Rapamycin is one such substance. Will it set off the same reaction as caloric restriction? Only time will tell. In the meantime you might want to take a pass on that next piece of cheesecake, it’s going to be awhile before science unravels all the answers to the mysteries of aging.

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