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The team from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center reports in the April 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association on a six-month study of men and women between 25 and 50 who were placed on a calorie restriction diet that lowered their daily caloric intake by about 25 percent. The researchers compared those on calorie restriction to subjects who either had not been on a diet, had cut calories by about 12.5 percent and increased the energy they burned through exercise by a like amount, or had spent six months on a standard low-calorie diet of about 1,800 to 2,000 calories per day until they had lost 15 percent of their body weight.

The study, called the Comprehensive Assessment of the Long Term effects of Reducing Intake of Energy (CALERIE), found that all subjects who dieted or increased their exercise lost weight and body fat. But those on a calorie restriction diet ended the study with lower fasting insulin levels and lower core body temperatures. They also had less oxidative damage to their DNA, thought to be a marker of aging at the biochemical and cellular level.

"This study has laid the groundwork for future research into the long-term effects of calorie restriction in humans to see whether it really can extend lifespan," Holloszy says. "It's becoming clear from studies with the CRONies -- and from this brief, prospective study -- that calorie restriction does change some of the markers we associate with aging."

Holloszy and Fontana are getting ready to launch a second phase of the CALERIE study, to look at the effects of calorie restriction over the course of two years.

"We know people on calorie restriction will lose weight," says Fontana.
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Source:Washington University School of Medicine