In the recent “CALERIE” study conducted by the National Institutes of Health, researchers sought to provide insight on how calorie restriction affects the health of adults. In a 24 month clinical trial of more than 200 youth to middle ages adults, the results showed that calorie restrictions were beneficial in reducing the risk s of age- related illnesses and also helped improve the chances of a person living longer. People in the study showed improved blood pressure numbers, less insulin resistance and lower harmful cholesterol levels.
What is Calorie Restriction?
Calorie restriction is lowering the daily amount of calories consumed while maintaining the consumption of adequate essential nutrients. In this case, the calorie restriction was meant to test the health effects and metabolic rate of a better diet with less calories.
CALERIE Findings
Experts said that the calorie restriction did not show enough effect on the predetermined primary metabolic endpoints. However, it lowered risk factors for several diseases associated with aging. While the study leaders were encouraged by their findings, they also noted that there was still plenty to learn about the health outcomes of calorie restrictions in healthy people. They expressed their intention to learn more before they started making recommendations about diets.
Calorie restriction also showed positive effects when it was tested on lab animals. Experts said that this was especially true if the restriction started while the animal was very young or a young adult. Since lab animals have considerably shorter average lifespans than humans, researchers said that a similar study would take several decades to conduct with humans.
Study Goals
For this calorie restriction study, the participants were supposed to lose 1505 percent of their body weight during the initial year. In the following year, their goal was to keep off the lost weight. To reach these goals, their calorie intake was reduced by 25 percent of the recommended daily intake. During the initial year of the study, the restricted group lost an average of 10 percent of their body weight. They were able to keep the weight off in the following year. Although the participants fell short of the restriction study’s intake goal by about 12 percent, they were still able to maintain a good diet and keep off the lost weight. At the end of the study, researchers found a non- significant effect on participants’ resting metabolic rate.
Calorie Restriction Effects
The restriction program helped lower the risks of several diseases. These were some of the risk reductions:
- Blood pressure dropped an average of 4 percent
- C- reactive protein levels dropped by 47 percent
- HDL cholesterol increased significantly
- LDL cholesterol decreased by 6 percent
- Insulin resistance decreased significantly
- T3 hormone levels decreased by 20 percent
HDL is considered to beneficial cholesterol, and LDL is the bad cholesterol. The reduction of the C- reactive protein means a reduction in the type of inflammation that can lead to cardiovascular disease. The T3 hormone is a thyroid hormone, and lowered thyroid activity has been associated in some studies with a longer lifespan.
This study also sought to find the effects of a calorie- restricted diet on mood. No negative effects were noted in this aspect. There were no reports of adverse clinical effects. However, some of the study participants experienced above average bone loss and also developed transient anemia. These factors were both due to considerable weight loss, which is a good reminder of why clinical monitoring is so important in these types of studies.
Experts were pleased with the results of the study and said that it was the largest study of its kind that did not focus on obese adults but rather on healthy adults. They hope to conduct similar studies in the future. To learn more about this topic, discuss concerns with an agent.
Allan Phillips is a Managing Principal at UBF and has over 25 years experience as a senior health care and pension consultant. He has worked with Fortune 50, 500 and mid-size companies to assess, develop, and implement integrated benefits programs for global organizations.