Researchers from the CNRS and France's National Museum of Natural History have shown that moderate calorie restriction can significantly extend lifespan. In a decade-long study on mouse lemurs—the world's smallest primates, weighing just 100 grams and measuring 12 cm (excluding tail)—those on a restricted diet lived nearly 50% longer than controls.
The team divided the mouse lemurs into two groups, reducing food intake by one-third for the experimental group over almost 10 years.
Building on a pioneering 1930s study where rats on calorie-restricted diets outlived controls, this primate research confirms delayed aging and extended longevity. 'At the study's end, all control animals died of old age, while the restricted group stayed youthful longer and outlived them,' says Fabienne Aujard, CNRS researcher and lead investigator. Findings were published in Communications Biology. Though the exact mechanisms linking calorie restriction to longevity remain under investigation, the results hold strong promise for aging research.
