The Study
Caloric restriction reduces age-related and all-cause mortality in rhesus monkeys
This study found that monkeys who ate less lived longer than monkeys who ate more, but it didn't prove that eating less caused them to live longer — maybe other things like how they were cared for made the difference. It's like noticing that kids who bring lunch from home do better in school — but we don't know if the lunch caused it, or if those kids just have more support at home.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
Scientists fed some monkeys less food for over 20 years to see if it helped them live longer and healthier lives.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 519 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Since monkeys are close to humans, this suggests eating less might also help humans live longer and avoid age-related diseases.
- 2Monkeys eating 30% less food were 2.9 times less likely to die from aging-related causes and 1.8 times less likely to die from any cause.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Nature Communications
Year
2014
Authors
R. Colman, T. Beasley, Joseph W. Kemnitz, S. Johnson, R. Weindruch, Rozalyn M. Anderson
Related Content
Claims (6)
Rhesus monkeys fed a reduced-calorie diet lived longer than the typical lifespan of 26 years seen in monkeys fed normally at the same research center.
In rhesus monkeys, reducing calorie intake lowers death rates from aging and increases lifespan, showing that how diet affects aging is similar in primates and other animals with shorter lives.
Rhesus monkeys that ate 30% fewer calories than normal, starting between ages 7 and 14 and continuing for more than 20 years, died from age-related causes at 2.9 times lower rates and from any cause at 1.8 times lower rates than monkeys that ate without restriction.
Rhesus monkeys in the NIA study weighed less than those in the Wisconsin study because they consumed fewer calories, and this difference in calorie intake explains why survival rates were similar between the two groups.
In rhesus monkeys, a diet with fewer calories does not raise the likelihood of dying from causes unrelated to aging, because the rate of such deaths relative to total lifespan is the same as in monkeys eating normally.
Reducing calorie intake in laboratory animals results in a longer lifespan.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.