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posted by CoolHand on Wednesday January 18 2017, @07:39PM   Printer-friendly
from the monkey-business dept.

Settling a persistent scientific controversy, a long-awaited report shows that restricting calories does indeed help rhesus monkeys live longer, healthier lives.
...
First, the animals in the two studies had their diets restricted at different ages. Comparative analysis reveals that eating less is beneficial in adult and older primates but is not beneficial for younger animals. This is a major departure from prior studies in rodents, where starting at an earlier age is better in achieving the benefits of a low-calorie diet.

Second, in the old-onset group of monkeys at NIA, the control monkeys ate less than the Wisconsin control group. This lower food intake was associated with improved survival compared to the Wisconsin controls. The previously reported lack of difference in survival between control and restricted groups for older-onset monkeys within NIA emerges as beneficial differences when compared to the UW-Madison data. In this way, it seems that small differences in food intake in primates could meaningfully affect aging and health.

Third, diet composition was substantially different between studies. The NIA monkeys ate naturally sourced foods and the UW-Madison monkeys, part of the colony at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, ate processed food with higher sugar content. The UW-Madison control animals were fatter than the control monkeys at NIA, indicating that at nonrestricted levels of food intake, what is eaten can make a big difference for fat mass and body composition.

The study says nothing about whether the monkeys lived happier lives.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 18 2017, @11:41PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 18 2017, @11:41PM (#455774)

    Alcohol has its place, but over the last few decades it has had diminishing returns for me personally. The negatives outweigh the benefits, and being sober is a little more boring but overall more pleasurable. Alcohol has subtle effects on your mood for days if you get nice and drunk, not just the next morning. If you drink regularly then your body is depressed and you've traded the short term alcohol "fun" for the long term body satisfaction. Not saying to not drink, just 1x a week at most if you want to manage the negative effects properly.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 19 2017, @12:51AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 19 2017, @12:51AM (#455807)

    Is it better to get hammered infrequently, or slightly buzzed not-infrequently?