Can Calorie Counting Help You Live Longer?

Posted by Caley on March 16th, 2009 at 09:18am

I wrote a review of the Calorie Restriction/Anti-Aging Diet today, which got me thinking about this idea. Can restricting our daily calories really help us to live longer? Or will life just SEEM longer because we are limiting our enjoyment of food?

Evidence for the correlation between calorie restriction and longer life expectancy is interesting and varied. In one study, diets of the residents of Okinawa and other Ryukyu Islands were examined compared to the rest of Japan. Okinawans have the longest average life expectancy of anywhere in the world, with many centenarians in the population. Compared to the rest of Japan, Okinawans eat 20% less and almost no meat, eggs or dairy products. The study points out the increased life expectancy of Okinawans might also by explained by genetic and environmental factors.

A three-year study of humans compared those with calorie-restricted diets and a control group. The calorie-restricted diets were about 35% lower in daily calories than the diets in the control group. The study found that those with the calorie-restricted diet had less time in the infirmary (123 days vs. 219 days). Again, other factors could have been in play.

Other studies have suggested that strict calorie restriction might lead to more stresses on the individual, which can be unhealthy overall. Calorie restriction might also diminish quality of life.  Overall, many scientists believe that no clear evidence exists for calorie restriction causing a significant increase in life duration. Moderation might be the better choice.

What do you think?

Tags: anti-aging diet, calorie restriction diet, okinawa diet

Under Health Tags: anti-aging diet, calorie restriction diet, okinawa diet