Calorie Restriction and Aging (In Humans)
Calorie restriction is an intervention that possibly extends the lifespan of many model organisms. Does it do the same in humans?
Eat (less) to live (longer)?
In a previous post, we looked at different fasting regimes and their impact on aging and disease (spoiler: it’s complicated).
But let’s say we’re more interested in how much we eat rather than when we eat.
(Of course, restricting your eating window can help you stick to a calorie deficit, but that’s not necessarily the case. Eating several thousands of excess calories in a few hours will still make you gain weight.)
Why would we focus on calorie restriction when trying to mitigate the aging process? Well, moderate calorie restriction (CR) is one of the interventions that is well-validated in various animal models for prolonging lifespan. That being said, the studies backing this idea are not without their critics.
Often the studies compare calorie-restricted animals with an ad-lib group that can eat as much animal junk food-analogs as they want. So, in many cases, the control group is overeating, which promotes obesity and age-related problems. Further, it seems that certain genotypes…
