Low-Calorie Diet May Lengthen Life

Regimen Reduces Risk of Diseases Associated With Aging
By Rob Stein Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, April 20, 2004; Page A03

A small group of people who are drastically restricting how much they eat in the hope of slowing the aging process have produced the strongest support yet for the tantalizing theory that very low-calorie diets can extend the human lifespan.

The first study of people who voluntarily imposed draconian diets on themselves found that their cholesterol levels, blood pressure and other major risk factors for heart disease -- the biggest killer -- plummeted, along with risk factors for diabetes and possibly other leading causes of death such as cancer and Alzheimer's.

"These people are definitely protected against the major killers," said John O. Holloszy of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, who led the study, released online yesterday. "It should definitely increase longevity."

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