AGING RESEARCH:
Low-Calorie Diets May Slow Monkeys' Aging
Jennifer Couzin
At a Society of Toxicology meeting 2 weeks ago in Reston, Virginia, three groups presented data showing that rhesus monkeys fed severely calorie-restricted diets show fewer signs of diseases associated with advancing age, including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, than their comfortably full--and in some cases comparably lean--counterparts. Because most of the hungry monkeys are only now entering middle age, it's too early to tell whether the low-calorie diets will significantly extend their life-spans. But one of the studies provided a tantalizing hint: Mortality due to disease among the calorie-restricted monkeys was slightly lower than among the controls.