Restriction of calories in the diet can help extend life expectancy and improve the health of the rhesus monkey , according to a recent study .
Average life expectancy in the monkey cage 26 years , but more than half of the monkeys in the study consumed a diet with limited calories can live at least until the age of 30 years .
The study results also showed that animals that do not consume a low calorie diet have the risk of age-related diseases is almost three times larger than the group of animals with a restricted calorie diet .
" This study is important because it shows that a consistent beneficial effect we see in lower organisms also occurs in primates and therefore supports the belief that calorie restriction has beneficial effects for humans , " said Ricki Colman , a senior scientist at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center , the Live Science .
In the study , the researchers observed 76 rhesus monkeys . Half of the animals were eating foods with lower calories 30 percent when they were aged 7-14 years . Other groups of monkeys received no restriction calorie consumption .
Average life expectancy in the monkey cage 26 years , but more than half of the monkeys in the study consumed a diet with limited calories can live at least until the age of 30 years .
The study results also showed that animals that do not consume a low calorie diet have the risk of age-related diseases is almost three times larger than the group of animals with a restricted calorie diet .
" This study is important because it shows that a consistent beneficial effect we see in lower organisms also occurs in primates and therefore supports the belief that calorie restriction has beneficial effects for humans , " said Ricki Colman , a senior scientist at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center , the Live Science .
In the study , the researchers observed 76 rhesus monkeys . Half of the animals were eating foods with lower calories 30 percent when they were aged 7-14 years . Other groups of monkeys received no restriction calorie consumption .
