"Eat less, work more" - mantra to healthy life(Must watch video)

A 20-year study of monkeys shows that a reduced-calorie diet paid off in less disease and longer life, a finding that might eventually be applied to humans.

Half the rhesus macaque monkeys studied were allowed to eat as they pleased, while the other half ate a carefully controlled diet that provided just two-thirds calories they would normally choose to eat.

The dieters were three times less likely to die from age-related diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes over the study period than monkeys that ate as they liked.

Rhesus macaques have an average life span of 27 years in captivity.

"We have been able to show that caloric restriction can slow the aging process in a primate species," said Richard Weindruch of the University of Wisconsin, whose team's study appears in the journal Science.

The study reinforces similar findings in yeast, worms, flies and rodents, and suggests other primates could benefit, too.

Since people live far longer than monkeys, it may never be possible to fully study the effects of calorie restriction in humans.

Most caloric restriction studies have found that a lifetime of deprivation is needed to achieve the longer-life benefits, and many research teams are working on ways to replicate the findings with drugs.

Weindruch and his team found 50 per cent of the monkeys that were allowed to eat freely have survived, while 80 per cent of the monkeys that ate 30 per cent fewer calories over the last two decades are still alive. The dieters had half the amount of heart disease and cancer, and there were no cases of diabetes in the low-calorie group.

They also had more brain volume in some regions than monkeys that ate freely, suggesting diet might affect brain health in aging as well.