This is the conclusion of a study carried out for 25 years in which a caloric restriction experiment was carried out in non-human primates and the results of which have been published in the journal Nature Communications .
The experiment began in 1989 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA) based on the hypothesis that calorie restriction causes a reduction in age-related diseases and therefore a longer life. Thus, they had 76 Rhesus monkeys (the most similar to us) from the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center (between 7 and 14 years old) who were divided into two groups of 38 macaques each: those of the first group were he allowed them to eat whatever they wanted throughout this period of time; the second group was restricted in the amount of calories they ingested each day by 30% .
The results of the clinical trial showed that monkeys who ate as much as they wanted had 2.9 times the risk of disease and 3 times the risk of death. Monkeys that consumed 30% fewer calories lived longer. Among those with no eating limits, 28 monkeys died mainly from diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and brain atrophy. However, in the restricted diet group there were only 10 deaths.
The team of researchers believe that many of the effects of aging have to do with how the body regulates energy . Thanks to the calorie restriction, the metabolism is reprogrammed, this affects how “fuel” is used and, therefore, how the body responds as it ages.
