Calorie Restriction in the Times Online
The Times Online is running an article on calorie restriction (CR) and its practitioners - suffering somewhat from the outsider looking in, per usual. "The problem with CR studies is that the majority have been done in short-lived animals like rats. Primates are more difficult to study as less is known about their nutrition and they live relatively long lives. A rhesus monkey can live 40 or 50 years in captivity, even without CR. ... Comparing the mice, monkey and human studies should give him a clearer picture of how, and if, CR works in humans. ... It's advantageous for mice to switch to a high reproductive gear in the season of plenty. Come winter it is better to switch that off because you don't want a lot of offspring when you have less food, body fat and energy ... In the wild, CR - a lack of food - helps animals get through winter so they can breed in spring. ... CR seems to switch down that sex drive (anecdotally more so in men) [and] diverts the body's energies elsewhere into a broad set of maintenance activities. The byproduct may be life extension."
Link: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article3121926.ece?print=yes