A low-calorie diet is often recommended for weight loss. However, this diet can also slow down ageing and keep you young. According to a study published in the Nature Ageing Journal, eating fewer calories can slow down the pace of ageing and increase longevity in healthy adults.
According to media reports, this is the first-ever randomized controlled trial that analysed the long-term impact of calorie restriction. However, the study’s senior author, Dan Belsky, who is an assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York City, revealed that the outcomes of the study add to existing evidence that a calorie-restricted diet has significant health benefits, including delayed ageing.
“The main take-home of our study is that it is possible to slow the pace of biological aging and that it may be possible to achieve that slowing through modification of lifestyle and behavior,” Belsky said as quoted by NBC news.
During the trial, the people in the calorie-restricted group were given three prepared meals each day for the first month to familiarise themselves with portion sizes. Moreover, they were also provided behavioral counselling about diet over the first 24 weeks. According to Dr. Evan Hadley, director of the geriatrics and clinical gerontology division at the National Institute of Aging, most people in the calorie-restriction group only ended up cutting their daily caloric intake by about 12 percent.
The researchers used an algorithm to see how certain DNA biomarkers in the blood changed over time. The scientists found that people who cut their calories slowed the pace of their aging by 2 percent to 3 percent, compared to people who were on a normal diet.
Meanwhile, a separate study is planning to look at the effects of a calorie-restricted diet after 10 years. Hadley maintained that the new study reinforces findings from previous research that some calorie restrictions can promote health benefits, including living longer and healthier lives.