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Nutrition and Longevity in the Rat¹

III. Food Restriction Beyond 800 Days

Department of Pathology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York

Observations on rats up to 1200 days old showed that food restriction to a level 46% below intake of rats fed ad libitum resulted in an extension of life expectancy and a delay in the onset of major diseases, including neoplasms. With this amount of dietary restriction little retardation of skeletal growth or sexual maturity was observed, and no storage of excess body fat developed as in the rats fed ad libitum.

In comparison with unrestricted rats, longevity of restricted animals was increased about 200 days in males and about 350 days in females. Females had greater longevity than males fed the same diet. Life expectancy depended upon the age of onset of lesions. With advancing age, the incidence of disease increased in both the restricted and the unrestricted rats, but number and severity of lesions remained lower in the restricted animals than in those fed ad libitum. Tumorigenesis was also delayed by dietary restriction but retardation was not as great as with other diseases.

Manuscript received 29 December 1960.

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