Scientists have known since the 1930s that mice and other animals live 30 to 50 percent longer when placed on a diet that’s low in calories yet nutritionally complete. The unanswered question has been whether calorie restriction has the same life-extending effect on people.
Direct proof of a payoff for human longevity would take decades. But scientists have now shown that people on a calorie-restricted diet experience many of the cellular changes reported in mouse studies.
Log in
Subscribers, enter your e-mail address for full access to the Science News archives and digital editions.