Caloric Intake and Aging

Abstract

In postindustrial societies, overeating, inactivity, and obesity have emerged as new challenges in public health.^1,2 Considerable effort is now being devoted to determining the pathophysiologic consequences of overeating. Several lines of evidence suggest that caloric intake influences the rate of aging and the onset of associated diseases in animals and, possibly, humans.³⁵ The observation that laboratory rats not only live longer but also have fewer age-associated diseases when their food intake is restricted dates back to the 1930s.³⁷ Numerous subsequent studies have found that when the ad libitum food intake of mice and rats was reduced by . . .